Looking forward to 2012 in your company my dear friends! Mwaah, hugs, pinches and waves!

Atis Ice Cream

Description:
Taken from Celebrations: A Culinary Feast from the Roces-Reyes Table, edited by Delgado, et. al (Anvil Publishing, Inc. 2010).


"Atis Ice Cream is such a luxury. There's nothing like nonstop spoonfuls of pure atis frozen in creamy carabao's milk ice cream. This is my grandmother's recipe, and in the old days, when they didn't have electric ice cream makers, they would freeze the atis ice cream mix in a metal can and give it a stir every few hours to break up the ice crystals."

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 c water
2 kg ripe atis (sugar apple), the seeds are removed
(we are using the creamy pulp of the atis)
4 cup carabao's milk


Directions:
Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.

In a large bowl, mix the cooled syrup, atis pulp, and carabao's milk. Transfer to an ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Alternatively, pour the mixture into ice trays or shallow pans and freeze. After a few hours, scrape the ice that begun to form and return to the freezer. Repeat a few more times until a thick sherbet-like consistency is reached.

Happy cat :-) Unexpectedly found rose syrup for my favorite rose bandung. In Cebu of all places! (I'm too lazy to go to Indian grocery stores in Manila). Promptly made rose bandung and rose water summer quencher even if its bed weather the whole day *grin*

Bifteka and Loukanika at CYMA with mama mia kaganina!

Japan National Tourism Organization |

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/index.html

A taste of Pritchon @ Zubuchon

MUJI Global

http://www.muji.com
Japanese goods..high quality and for some items you will consider carefully that they are reasonably priced.

Their notebooks and other paper products are a steal considering its made in Japan. I could not resist a Japanese-style plain white teapot myself..and their containers are the usual of what I would expect from Japanese design and attention to detail :-)

Snack memories. While growing up, what do you recall about foods you munched on?

Bacon from heaven! Tocino del Cielo! Whatever name it may evolve to, its a sublime piece of heavenly sweets....and I have a box of them beside me within easy reach right now *wink, wink*

"On Her Majesty's Secreet Service" is one film I remember coz James Bond got married and his wife was Diana Rigg (I love her in her own tv series).

Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.

Spicy Ginger Tea

Description:
Alternative to your usual coffee.

But take note...people suffering from heartburn should not use ginger in large quantities to make the tea, for it can aggravate the condition...


Ingredients:
4 cups of water
4-5 slices of fresh ginger
A few strips of orange peel
4 pods of cardamom
4 cloves
2 cups of milk, low-fat
4 teaspoons of tea leaves (Assam)
Brown sugar, according to taste


Directions:
Put the water, cardamom, ginger slices, orange peel and cloves in a saucepan, bring to boil, then cover and simmer for about ten minutes.

Add the tea leaves and milk and simmer for another two minutes.

Turn off the heat and allow it to steep for about 4-5 minutes, or according to how strong you want it.

Strain the tea and add sugar according to taste. Serve hot.

Ginger Tea flavored with Lemongrass

Description:
Drink it hot when you feel the flu or a cold coming on.
It can be served either hot or chilled so it depends on your preference.

Ingredients:
4 cups of water
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root
1 stalk lemongrass, sliced lengthwise
2 teaspoons of herbal tea
1 lemon
honey


Directions:
Bring the water to boil then reduce the heat and add the grated ginger and lemongrass.

Let it simmer for ten minutes or so.
Turn off the heat add two teaspoons of herbal tea (any of your favorite).

Strain the tea and add honey to sweeten and lemon for extra flavor.

Drooling over the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7...the first super AMOLED Plus tablet. I wonder if its good to just buy it in Korea when I go there next year *cross fingers*

For those who use wikipedia..I hope you can also take time to donate what extra funds you have for them as its a very useful website.

LSS on "Halik" (Kiss) by Kamikazee...

"it used to be we grew our hair long driving down the hi-way speeding fast we were flying but those days are long gone those days are long gone time came for us to choose it would have come sooner or later and when it came we were crying but those days are long gone those days are long gone so dance! O dance! we may never get the chance! so sing O sing! don't pass up the chance! hold on fast to living til these days are long gone these days are long gone"

Due to "Kaichou wa Maid Sama" anime, I discovered heidi.'s "Loop". Due to looking that up, I now know what "visual kei" means. But now I also like this rock band's repertoire...

Alarming trend: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150421034963057. "Partee and Play" is now quite common.

I've always followed FMA (Full Metal Alchemist) and I like Scandal's songs too..and to put them together in "Shunkan Sentimental" is a winning combo...

A first! I actually like "Breaking Dawn"'s (Part 1) movie adaptation better than the book (BD is the least liked book I have of the "Twilight" series).

I saw the very cute Pentax Q! I was trolling for a good (hopefully more than 20 feet depth) waterproof cam and got tempted by currently the "world's smallest" interchangeable lens camera instead!

The Animals to Nina Simone.....I'm just a soul whose intentions are good....Oh Lord! please don't let me be misunderstood...

Serizawa Kamo's Rurouni Kenshin Translation Index

http://victorian.fortunecity.com/stanford/130/index.html
One of the earliest sites (which is still around) which I used for research when I was obsessed with the Rurouni Kenshin story years ago.

I hope this doesn't get taken down...



Last volume cover of RK, taken from wiki

Orororororo?

A Very Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends in the US who are celebrating the holidays. For those of us who don't have an official holiday like this..we ought to always treat everyday as a "Thanksgiving" day for all the blessings we have received - they outweigh all the problems we face!

Thanks to Mommy Loy's gift of humongous bananas (saging), I'm now having sinugbang saging (grilled), linung-ag nga saging (boiled) and minatamis (simple syrup) paired with sinugbang (grilled) potpot (akong favorite nga dried fish) prior to lunch!

It's Dad's 86th birthday today!!

Spirale Ristorante: "Vale ogni centesimo!"

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Italian
Location:	Davao City, Philippines

You can confidently bet your last piece of penne pasta when it comes to my visiting Italian restaurants which come highly recommended!
Italian and Japanese are two international cuisines I try my darndest to savor when I visit another place.


On 24th September 2011, after the extremely adventurous trip and butt-whomping rides through every imaginable vehicle to Camp Sabros and experiencing its soaring ziplines, my companions and I finally came back to Davao City.
I had promised Rina, my closest (and therefore favorite cousin) that she and I would have dinner together, have a talka-thon and that I'd hand over for her sweet tooth Manila baked sweets which were probably not good for her system...hahaha!

Chiara, (who was not able to be with us in Camp Sabros) was in Spirale Ristorante already with her family.
She had earlier recommended this eating place upon picking us up at the airport at an ungodly hour - with Cafe Firenzo beside it but of course they were still closed at that time.
It just whet my appetite.

We made a snap decision to go to Damosa Gateway (I keep blundering and calling it Damaso, probably from the fat friar in Jose Rizal's novels) to see how good their Italian offerings were.

Rina and I arrived just in time to greet and meet Chiara and her hubby before they left and thank them for the fun we had at their Camp Sabros.
Then it was time to get into the serious business of ordering and inhaling the delicious aroma of food which came our way, even if we were seated outside.

I was tasked to do the choosing and it was difficult because I loved all the descriptions in their menu selections.

I finally settled on Pizza Prosciutto (no surprise there) and Vongole al Chorizo for the pasta side. (I was sure my stomach pets wouldn't mind the carbo load late that night).



Cousins who like to eat together...


As for the flavor - I give them two thumbs up.
While it had only been recently that I had indulged in similar pizza (though oval-shaped) at Cibo in Manila, I think the arugula and prosciutto formula that Spirale slathers on their thin, crunchy-liciously crispy pizza were points ahead in being "home-made"-tasting.

The pasta was a tongue-pleaser too.
The baby clams were tender (they ought to be) and the stewed tomatoes coupled with the white wine sauce was just rightly thrown in together.
I usually avoid seafood-related pasta because my all-time favorite is the simple but divine arrabbiata, but this ristorante's version of the vongole was enough to make me more open-minded.

With just these two dishes, my cousin and I were stuffed to the gills, though I did manage to set aside a slice or two for Che (who was already at the Ponce Suites, photos of which are posted somewhere on this site).

I wish I had more time to stay, eat and talk with my cousin because its certainly one ristorante I would like to do a little more menu-exploration.

For the penny-pinching worker though, this might be one restaurant, which although you might like to eat at everyday - may not be that conducive to your wallet's continued health.
In comparison to Manila, where popular restaurants are more expensive, Davao still is relatively cheaper in terms of eating places which do give a broad variety of very fresh seafood - though I am not completely sure about the international cuisine side.

I can't label Spirale as a very expensive place, it is also not what I would call as very affordable.

My recommendation is that you try it at least once...and then you can save up your money to eat more frequently here as time goes by *grin*



Spirale Ristorante
Damosa Complex, Angliongto Road, Lanang, Davao City
Phone +63 82 234-6298

"Writing Fiction Today" - Instituto Cervantes has an open forum with Spanish and Filipino Writers Ruben Abella and Sarge Lacuesta. Nov 15, 2011, 7 pm at 855 TM Kalaw St. - for those who may be interested.

I was chortling when I heard the news - its official! The biggest saltwater croc (caught alive) in the world is found in the Philippines. I thought it was news about a hefty politician caught red-handed. But it was about the 20+ foot-long Lolong :-)

"The beginning is always today." - Mary Wollstonecraft

Soul in Seoul, Grinning in Gyeongju

Start:	Apr 28, '12
End:	May 6, '12
Location:	Seoul, Korea

I plan to go with a friend for her second trip to Korea :-)

Sign from God, my mileage was due, so might as well use it for the ticket. This is ideal as its spring and cherry blossoms might be in full bloom...

Research mode has been for some time with discussions from FB travel group friends.

A subway song for Seoul -> http://youtu.be/tWcDTEaATxI

Official Site of Korea Tourism Org.: E-Books

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/GK/GK_EN_2_7_4.jsp
Korea travel research (aka I'm too cheap to buy books LOL)

Left comment on this website which used my photos without prior permission: "Wouldn't it be better if acknowledgment of any photos grabbed from other people used in this site would be practiced diligently? I noticed that one particular establishment herein featured has photos plastered on this site which were taken from my Multiply blog without asking for my permission nor has any statement saying where they were taken. While I share or talk about where I've been to, in order to help promote lodgings, tourist spots, and what-have-you etc. I would consider it courtesy if I had been asked beforehand."

As one who likes taking pictures, this is an experience that sadly has happened to me innumerable times, and I've been mad enough to chew on thumbtacks -> http://thoughtsofashutterbug.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/freedom-of-photography/

* Top 20 Most Awesome Company Offices-> http://www.incomediary.com/top-20-most-awesome-company-offices/

My patient watching the shelves has paid off - since the severe Ondoy storm (Typhoon Ketsana, which submerged a huge area affected in Luzon part), the Mabuti Portuguese sardines had vanished off the shelves of Landmark grocery...and though I keep on checking every time I do my shopping, its only today I saw stacks of it again. But omigosh..its now Php 200+ per can with say 4 to 5 small Portuguese sardines..WAAAH!

3 Reasons to Travel While You're Young | Goins, Writer

http://goinswriter.com/travel-young/
One of the nicer articles I came across in FB today...

Going back to Manila on the PNR Bicol Express...definitely worth another trip.

I always like these iron horses. Its my first time to ride the Bicol Express PNR train to Naga City tonight.

"Shanghai-ed": From one blog I came across, I was told to beware of tea scams in Shanghai, wherein you are approached and invited for tea by peeps saying they want to practice their English on you and off you go to a tea house. The next thing you know, your new friends have disappeared and the unlucky one (you) get the bill from the tea house running to thousands of yuan (ehem) and a large gentleman now approaches you if you balk at paying. But I have an advantage....*wink*

MONDAY, 7 NOVEMBER 2011, AS A REGULAR HOLIDAY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, IN OBSERVANCE OF EIDUL ADHA (FEAST OF SACRIFICE)

Happy, happy Deepavali to you!

China Travel Agency,China Tours,Beiing Tour Packages,24/7 Service

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/
For future trips to China...

ExploreShanghai | Shanghai Metro map | ExploreShanghai

http://www.exploreshanghai.com/metro/
You can easily make use of their metro instead of taxis.

For those who love walking tours and trains like me!

If you happen to be in Shanghai now and like old photos, drop by the 'Shanghai Art Museum'. I saw photos of the Old Summer Palace (Beijing) which were illuminating since its just bare ruins now. There were also original old prints dealing with China from Harper's Weekly, Illustrated London (to name a few) dating back to 1800s are also on show as well as works from other artists....then do have afternoon tea afterward at Kathleen's 5 (same historic building) to savor the view over People's Square! (Or JW Marriot for stronger stuff).

If they only proclaimed it earlier, that October 31, 2011 holiday might have been useful :-)

The real you (?) in FB...

No need for me to say anything more....
This was shared from a high school friend's page .....(checks sides)

E sabi naman headshot, not body shot :-)
and its FB, not BB...

Travel Toinks (Davao): "Rocky Road"

Davao Mwahaha!: "Rocky Road"

Sep 30, '11 9:03 PM

Digos City, Philippines, 28th September 2011 - After almost 2 hours out of Davao City, I was somewhat tired after having no sleep for 24 hours....from the plane trip that dawn, car trip that morning, bus trip after breakfast, the latest being a tricycle trip, and here we were in a van which was still sitting itself prettily in the dusty old terminal of city - waiting to be filled up with passengers.

Vendors kept advertising their wares at the top of their voices as they passed by.

My eyes were drooping at half-mast while my neck was canting slowly downwards. I was in a light daze of meditation (or confusion?) when a male voice kept on repeating a phrase which penetrated the fuzzy fog in my brain.

I suddenly popped my eyes to their widest extent, jerked my head backwards and glanced alertly at the open door where there was man holding a plastic package of yellow-colored items.

+++++

Cat: 
WHAT? Did you say you're selling Rocky Road?  (I was referring to the ice cream flavor)

Vendor (staring):
ha?  (And you can almost hear his mind click tick-tock)

Cat: 
Rocky road, right?

Vendor (waves the plastic pack): 
Fish crackers ma'am.

*silence lasting for 5 seconds while Cat and the vendor stare at each other*

Cat (vehement): 
But...but! I swear I heard "rocky road" being said a couple of times!

Mommy Arlene (sitting by my side, poked me gently):  
He said "CRACKER OW!"

Cat (small voice): 
Oh! .....ehehe...*sheepish*


I guess when one is half-asleep...and you consider some slang differences in dialects..maybe the "cracker" sounded like "rocker" and the "ow" was like "rowd"...

*grasping at straws*

Davao Mwahaha!: "Rocky Road"

Digos City, Philippines, 28th September 2011 - After almost 2 hours out of Davao City, I was a bit tired having no sleep for 24 hours....from the plane trip that dawn, car trip that morning, bus trip after breakfast, the latest being a tricycle trip, and here we were in a van which was still sitting itself prettily in the dusty old terminal of city - waiting to be filled up with passengers.

Vendors kept shouting out their wares as they passed by.
My eyes were drooping at half-mast while my neck was canting slowly downwards.
I was in a light daze of meditation (or confusion?) when a male voice kept on repeating a phrase which penetrated the fuzzy fog in my brain.

I suddenly popped my eyes to their widest extent, jerked my head backwards and glanced alertly at the open door where there was man holding a plastic package of yellow-colored items.

+++++
Cat: WHAT? Did you say you're selling Rocky Road?  (I was referring to the ice cream flavor)

Vendor (staring): ha?  (And you can almost hear his mind click tick-tock)

Cat: Rocky road, right?

Vendor (waves the plastic pack): Fish crackers ma'am.

*silence lasting for 5 seconds while Cat and the vendor stare at each other*

Cat (vehement): But...but! I swear I heard "rocky road" being said a couple of times!

Mommy Arlene (sitting by my side, poked me gently):  He said "CRACKER OW!"

Cat (small voice): Oh! .....ehehe...*sheepish*


I guess when one is half-asleep...and you consider some slang differences in dialects..maybe the "cracker" sounded like "rocker" and the "ow" was like "rowd"...

*grasping at straws*


MWAHAHA!

Davao Mwahaha!: "I got plenty..."

Davao City, Philippines, 24th September 2011 - The well-used dusty bus seemed ready to roll off in a few seconds into the wild unknown...or rather it was off to Digos City.

Che then remembered she had to load her mobile as it was very important for us to have communication with the people we were to contact in our road trip.
Her BF Loo might also be wondering what happened to her on the adventure.

She hopped off the bus to one of the many stalls below where there were loading services for prepaid SIM cards.

The bus was ready to depart....I was anxiously craning my neck to and fro like a bewildered giraffe, she came back to the bus and sat back down into her seat. Thank goodness!
We calmly settled ourselves for an hour's ride to Digos, where we jumped from the parked bus, and rode a tricycle from the new terminal to the old bus terminal (I was more familiar with in my previous trips from Gen. Santos to Davao itself).

In the old bus terminal, we found a van which was waiting to be filled up for passengers to Kapatagan, a somewhat remote area where the Camp Sabros was located - perfect for zipline newbies and experienced zippies :-)

After finally draping ourselves as comfortably as possible among the creaky seats of the van,  we wanted to double check on the internet about our route and trip to Camp Sabros.

Lucky that we had our cellphones and she had her load!

+++++++

Che (flicking open her phone and scrolling rapidly): Oh I got plenty of load...I think its even Php 400!

Cat: Whoa....that seems a lot!

Che (nodding):  Yeah, coz I also texted my officemate and asked her to load my phone

Cat (excited): Great! we can surf longer or even the whole day!

++++
*silence for long moments*

Cat (curious and eager): ok ...so..what does the site say?

Che: Uhmm...hehe...I can't surf....low-batt ang phone...

*blips out?*



Ah...eh...well at least..plenty of load...

MWAHAHA!

Its like storm or typhoon-fest. There was Pedring (Typhoon NESAT) on Monday, then now its Quiel (Typhoon NALGAE) this Saturday. Not to mention a tropical depression named Ramon (?).....who I hope does not develop into a typhoon by next week.

Whee! My new passport (red-brown) has arrived. Eehw! I look like a prisoner of war with a grim smile. Canon nga na digicam sa DFA pero its not the most flattering.

Yuletide Holidays 2011

Start:	Dec 21, '11
End:	Jan 12, '12
Location:	Cebu City, Philippines

too afraid of run out of good ticket schedules this December, so bought one tonight...

Christmas food and Christmas parties, here I come!

Delicious Davao!

Start:	Sep 24, '11 05:00a
End:	Sep 27, '11
Location:	Davao, Philippines

Davao and Zamboanga used to be in my top 3 favorite destinations every month that I had to visit it due to my work at Sara Lee before.

I loved durian and all the good food like panga and sashimi (hey, GenSan is about 4 hours bus ride away in my time).

So, since Che and I visited the Travel Fair the other day, we took the plunge and got a ticket for this very large city :-)

Earlier today, I renewed my Philippine passport months in advance (its to expire February of next year). Good thing too, as I didn't expect that it would take me ~3 hours at the DFA to get through every guard, gate, counter, person, bench, doorway, chair, room, seat, table, line, signage, escalator,queue, corridor, and other queues of which descriptions I shall spare the gentle reader. Suffice to say, I polished a lot of seats :-)

Yehey! August 30, 2011 - EID'L FITR (FEAST OF RAMADAN) is a Philippine holiday - You can check for the proclamation in this link.... http://www.gov.ph/2011/08/11/proclamation-no-234-s-2011/

One of my top 3 favorite things to do....EAT!

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

For those of us who live to travel....

I'm doing this slowly :-)

Check this out for those interested in PAL promos -> http://www.philippineairlines.com/special_offers/latest_offers/fly_asia_pass.jsp

Hmmm...USD $1M laptop? -> Luvaglio: These laptops are built on orders only, and in this case, the buyer is given an option to choose the specifications and the design of the laptop and also which material to be used for making the body of the laptop.

MANILA, Philippines – After making landfall in Aurora, Tropical Storm “Juaning” (international name: Nock-ten) weakened but picked up speed and changed direction, travelling northwestward at 15 kilometers per hour, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.

Those twin attacks in Norway were something I'd never thought I'd hear happening in my lifetime...

Looka here -> http://travelvolunteer.net/

Penne Rigate alla Boscaiola

Description:
Penne Rigate is a thin tube pasta with sharp diagonally cut ends, which resemble the end of a quill pen. Penne pasta is approximately 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inches in length. The rigate in the pasta name indicates that the pasta has a ridged surface.

Ingredients:
350 g Penne Rigate
50 g butter
50 g dried porcini mushrooms
1 medium onion
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 tablespoons of EVOO
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
salt
freshly ground pepper


Directions:
Soak the mushrooms in warm water for 2 hours, drain and finely chop and keep back in 3 ladles of water.

Brown the onion in the oil and add the mushrooms.

Add the mushroom, water, salt, tomato paste, bay leaf and cook over low heat.

Cook the penne rigate pasta. Pour into the sauce and add butter, pepper and parsley.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Kids & Family

With no idiot box at home, and two movie choices of Transformers (Dark of the Moon) and this last installment of the Harry Potter movie series, guess where I ended up on a late Sunday night?

{You must be already familiar with the Harry Potter characters and story if you will read this review.}


While Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (from what I could remember of it) wasn't too bad, there's a certain resignation and jaded eye I had expected to encounter when viewing this film - after all, I'd read and re-read the books so many times, and the last book was not even my favorite - even if it was the conclusion of a long-awaited confrontation between the Boy-Who-Lived and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

It is a good enjoyable film, and one I could claim comes 2nd favorite in my list for the Harry Potter film series. How it treats certain aspects of the story is a little bit different from the book but is still certainly acceptable in the Harry Potter universe.

There are underlying messages in how some of the dilemna are solved (such as how to get rid of the Elder Wand - that was surprisingly simple! *grin*) which would probably be used in some philosophical discussion over tankards of beer and chips somewhere hehehe...but all is well that ends well.

I've seen the three actors portraying the lead characters practically grow up into teenagers on this series - I am just happy it was possible that they completed all of them instead of being replaced.

Speaking of actors, this is one of those times I can really appreciate Helena Bonham's versatility. I could really think of her as Hermione transformed through Polyjuice potion in how she conducted herself in the Gringott's bank robbing scene. Another kudos from me to to Alan Rickman. Though he wasn't what I had actually envisioned for Snape's character (I thought Gary Oldman would be more menacing as our oily-haired, snivellling Professor Snape), I did shed a tear or two over Snape's scenes explaining his duplicity.

{SPOILERS...beware!}
..
..
..
You won't get to see Percy's reconciliation with his family. In relation, you don't get to see them bonding (if you will excuse the term) over Fred's death.
Mr. Ollivander ends up as the one who confirms or completes the explanation about the Deathly Hallows instead of Luna's eccentric father.
The Bloody Baron's relationship with Ravenclaw's Ghost (The Grey Lady) and her connection to the Ravenclaw Horcrux is twisted neatly.
The dark facet of Dumbledore's past is also treated very lightly - no mention of skeletons in closets in the film at all or of Dumbledore's guilty past!
Crabbe is not seen anymore as Draco's sidekick when they fight it out in the Room of Requirement (I thought at first Crabbe became a colored person in the film! wth?)

You will get too see though (different from the book) how Ron and Hermione got the basilik fangs and destroyed another Horcrux - Helga Hufflepuff's cup - as well as their kissing scene (or the back of Ron's head) in the familiar Chamber of Shadows.



If there is one thing I really enjoyed so much in this film, it was the battle scenes between Voldemort's forces and the Hogwarts' defenders.
For these scenes, as well as the dragon escape alone, I'd be happy recommend the movie.

It must be the bloodthirsty part of me - all those magical fighting scenes, giants, ginormous spiders, dementors and spells sproinging all over the place was enough to make me cheer and enjoy the movie.
There's even some light scenes as well - with Neville Longbottom, and with the Harry Potter and the Hogwarts students as he first reunites with them - talk about the English gift of understatement *wink* His character, like in the book shines a bit more in this conclusion - such a big step from his timid image at the start.
I won't say anything anymore on how I felt about abbreviated scenes of some of the more familiar characters as I understand its a movie and difficult to really portray all scenes in the book which may have affected us greatly during our reading them.

Oh well, enough rambling on....what are you waiting for?
Go ahead, sit back and enjoy the conclusion.
You might as well giggle too as you see the "adult" Harry and Ginny, Hermione and Ron, and even Draco with their respective brood in the last scene 19 years later as the train follows the faithful tradition and takes their children this time to Hogwarts.

As for me..I'm left with the question - what do they do with all those new wands if its a case of winning it off its owner...bugger..

Listening to Classical Guitar and Flamenco Radio

LIFE - as a train journey

I would like to thank John (Stormlizard) for allowing me to share this on my site.

I saw this ages ago, and the combination of his thoughts, the pictures and the music at that time made me appreciate it as I pondered all the truths he said.

Since I've been posting about trains lately, I remembered this and dug through John's numerous wonderful powerpoint presentations :-)

Please check it out and enjoy your train journey...

Attachment: Life On The Train.pps

The Bicol Express Train Nostalgia Run (Chito's post)

http://chitoirigo.multiply.com/journal/item/169/The_Bicol_Express_Train_Nostalgia_Run
Please check out the above link of my friend Chito.
I am sure you will enjoy as much as I did reading about his "run" on a long-absent favorite.



++++
As for my thoughts...

Simply put, I *heart* iron horses.

I wasn't born when trains were still around in my hometown of Cebu.
But my parents sometimes get that nostalgic glow in their eyes and describe to me how there used to be a train bringing people as far as Carcar up south or was it Danao up north?

Now all I can see are lingering traces of the presence of pre-WWII iron horses in the crumbling columns supporting train tracks over a valley in the quaint town of San Fernando in the south.

But I've sort of made up for it.

My train-loving deprived soul takes in a little bit of sunshine every time I ride an MRT train in Manila (even if I feel like a squashed Portuguese sardine with my flattened butt resting against somebody else's bony hip... and the train really is only for short distances).



train nearing MRT Ayala Station


I inevitably get this warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest when I also board trains in Japan - I know its going to bring me to a hitherto unknown destination wherein a new adventure awaits - and where I am sure good things will happen.
And since you can practically set your clocks against the punctuality of Japan trains, it makes it really easy to travel that country even if you do not speak an iota of Japanese.



a shinkansen speeding by in Japan


Still though, I was keeping alive that flame in my heart... that someday I'd see something like those shinkansens in my own country - and used by those who eschew flying.

There's something ultimately romantic and thrilling (with some insistent prodding from my overactive imagination) about a train ala The Orient Express or even a simple unadorned iron horse stoically bringing people of all shapes, sizes and types into an interconnected line of train stations where their goal may be located - plus you also get to see varying slices of life when you gaze out of the window into the passing countryside.


PNR (Philippine National Railways) Logo



Ferrocarril Manila-Dagupan ca 1885


When the "Bicol Express" was said to be coming back I was inwardly doing cartwheels. (I get a kick of saying Bicol Express because one of my favorite spicy stews is also named the same). I impatiently brushed aside thoughts on the problems sure to plague those determined folks to make it work. I just focused on the utter joy and anticipation when I too could one day add the experience of riding a long-distance iron horse in the Philippines.

For now, I shall live vicariously through Chito's experience...but I am pretty sure I will be riding the Bicol Express before the year is out :-)

Is it self-serving if I say congratulations to my team? :-) The HP GSR team has been selected for recognition as a FY11 Winning Edge winner! Congratulations to fellow members in US (Donna, Marjorie and Brad), Costa Rica (Jose) and Belgium (Hetty).

Quick Meatloaf

Description:
I've always wanted to try making one ever since I read about meatloaf being served in a typical US kitchen.

Maybe one of these days with this quick recipe...

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
3/4 cup Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup catsup
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients in large bowl; mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape meatloaf mixture into 10x6-inch loaf on rack of broiler pan.

Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until meatloaf is to medium doneness (160°F for beef, 170°F for turkey), until not pink in center and juices show no pink color. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Cover and refrigerate leftovers promptly and use within 2 days; or wrap airtight and freeze up to 3 months.

Quick No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

Description:
Lucky for me that my dad liked oatmeal for breakfast (along with the Farina Wheat Meal)

Till now I enjoy oats whether as cookies, for breakfast or for trail food. Here's something I grabbed ago for making cookies when I didn't have any oven. (From Quaker Oats site).

Ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) margarine or butter
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/3 cup baking cocoa
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

Directions:
In large saucepan, combine sugar, margarine, milk and cocoa. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Continue boiling 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat. Stir in oats.* Drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let stand until firm. Store tightly covered.

*If using old fashioned oats, cool mixture in saucepan 5 minutes.

Meooowww! Lunar eclipse! Am turning into a...were-kitty :-) who is hungry after seeing the moon being bitten off..

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Free Txt messages is available to non-roamers only.

- Jun 14, '11 11:10 PM

One Hundred Rules of Anime

I had cut and paste this from a source some time ago...and found it recently in one of my text files.

Warning, there is also some laws involving Hentai anime, so this is not just for innocent kiddies.


The laws of Anime is a growing list of physical, universal, and natural phenomenon that seem to appear in various forms in all sorts of anime. The original intent was an effort to classify these incidents into a list of "laws" that explained how Anime physics are different from our own (real?) world.

It is our hope that you find them useful to studying Anime, or at the very least, worth a good
chuckle.


#1 - Law of Metaphysical Irregularity- The normal laws of physics do not apply.

#2 - Law of Differential Gravitation- Whenever someone or something jumps, is
thrown, or otherwise is rendered airborne, gravity is reduced by a factor of 4.
* Some things have been known to "Float" for a few seconds before plummeting to hit
the ground, vehicle, or someone's cranium.

#3 - Law of Sonic Amplification, First Law of Anime Acoustics- In space, loud
sounds, like explosions, are even louder because there is no air to get in the way.

#4 - Law of Constant Thrust, First Law of Anime Motion- In space, constant thrust
equals constant velocity.

#5 - Law of Mechanical Mobility, Second Law of Anime Motion- The larger a
mechanical device is, the faster it moves, Armoured Mecha are the fastest objects
known to human science.

#6 - Law of Temporal Variability- Time is not a constant. Time stops for the hero
whenever he does something "cool" or "impressive". Time slows down when friends and
lovers are being killed and speeds up whenever there is a fight.

#7 - First Law of Temporal Mortality- "Good Guys" and "Bad Guys" both die in one of
two ways - either so quick they don't even see it coming, OR it's a long drawn out
affair where the character gains much insight to the workings of society, human
existence or why the toast always lands butter side down. *NOTE: Sometimes, Anime
heroes or villains never really die! In these rare cases they were a clone or cyborg
and the real hero/villain's suspiciously missing in "Malletspace", or something.

#8 - Second Law of Temporal Mortality- It takes some time for bad guys to die...
regardless of physical damage. Even when the "Bad Guys" are killed so quickly they
don't even see it coming, it takes them a while to realize they are dead. This is
attributed to the belief that being evil damages the Reality Lobe of the brain.

#9 - Law of Dramatic Emphasis- Scenes involving extreme amounts of action are
depicted with either still frames or black screens with a slash of bright color
(usually red or white).

#10- Law of Dramatic Multiplicity- Scenes that only happen once, for instance, a
"Good Guy" kicks the "Bad Guy" in the face, are seen at least 3 times from 3
different angles.

#11- Law of Inherent Combustibility- Everything explodes. Everything.
First Corollary- Anything that explodes bulges first.
Second Corollary- Large cities are the most explosive substances known to
human science. Tokyo in particular seems to be the most unstable of these cities,
sometimes referred to as "The Matchstick City".

#12- Law of Phlogistatic Emission- Nearly all things emit light from fatal wounds.

#13- Law of Energetic Emission- There is always an energy build up (commonly
referred to as an energy "bulge") before Mecha or space craft weapons fire. Because
of the explosive qualities of weapons, it is believed that this is related to the
Law of Inherent Combustibility.

#14- Law of Inverse Lethal Magnitude- The destructive potential of any
object/organism is inversely proportional to its mass.
First Corollary- Small and cute will always overcome big and ugly. Also
known as the A-Ko phenomenon.

#15- Law of Inexhaustibility- No one *EVER* runs out of ammunition. That is of
course unless they are cornered, out-numbered, out-classed, and unconscious.

#16- Laws of Inverse Accuracy- The accuracy of a "Good Guy" when operating any form
of firearm increases as the difficulty of the shot increases. The accuracy of the
"Bad Guys" when operating firearms decreases when the difficulty of the shot
decreases. (Also known as the Stormtrooper Effect) Example: A "Good Guy" in a
drunken stupor being held upside down from a moving vehicle will always hit, and
several battalions of "Bad Guys" firing on a "Good Guy" standing alone in the middle
of an open field will always miss.
First Corollary- The more "Bad Guys" there are, the less likely they will
hit anyone or do any real damage.
Second Corollary- Whenever a "Good Guy" is faced with insurmountable odds,
the "Bad Guys" line up in neat rows, allowing the hero to take them all out with a
single burst of automatic fire and then escape.
Third Corollary- Whenever a "Good Guy" is actually hit by enemy fire, it is
in a designated "Good Guy Area", usually a flesh wound in the shoulder or arm,
which restricts the "Good Guy" from doing anything more strenuous than driving,
firing weaponry, using melee weapons, operating heavy machinery, or doing complex
martial arts maneuvers.
*Fourth Corollary- The more times the "Bad Guy" fires, the fewer times he
will hit.

#17- Law of Transient Romantic Unreliability- Minimei is a bimbo. (Note: The
Minority Opposition in Ohio disagrees and thinks all men who like this stuff needs
to get out more.)

#18- Law of Hemoglobin Capacity- the human body contains over 12 gallons of blood,
sometimes more, under high pressure.

#19- Law of Demonic Consistency- Demons and other supernatural creatures have at
least three eyes, loads of fangs, tend to be yellow-green or brown, but black is not
unknown, and can only be hurt by bladed weapons. *Also, acid has been known to work
just as well...

#20- Law of Militaristic Unreliability- Huge galaxy-wide armadas, entire armies, and
large war machines full of cruel, heartless, bloodthirsty warriors can be stopped
and defeated with a single insignificant example of a caring/loving emotion or a
song.
First Corollary- Whenever a single war machine (mecha, starship, etc.) goes
up against an entire army, the army always loses.

#21- Law of Tactical Unreliability- Tactical geniuses aren't...

#22 -Law of Inconsequential Undetectability- People never notice the little
things... like missing body parts, or wounds the size of Seattle.

#23- Law of Juvenile Intellectuality- Children are smarter than adults. And almost
twice as annoying.

#24- Law of Americanthromorphism- Americans in Anime appear in one of two roles,
either as a really nasty skinny "Bad Guy" or a big stupid "Good Guy".
First Corollary- The only people who are more stupid than the big dumb
Americans are the American translators. (Sometimes referred to as the Green Line
Effect)
Second Corollary- The only people who are more stupid than the American
translators are the American editors and censors.
*Third Corollary- Canadians are usually portrayed as smart, strong, handsome
"Good Guys".

#25- Law of Mandibular Proportionality- The size of a person's mouth is directly
proportional to the volume at which they are speaking or eating.

#26- Law of Feline Mutation- Any half-cat/half-human mutation will invariably:
1) be female.
2) will possess ears and sometimes a tail as a genetic mutation.
3) wear as little clothing as possible, if any.

#27- Law of Conservation of Firepower- Any powerful weapon capable of
destroying/defeating an opponent in a single shot will invariably be reserved and
used as a last resort.

#28- Law of Technological User-Benevolence- The formal training required to operate
a spaceship or mecha is inversely proportional to its complexity.

#29- Law of Melee Luminescence- Any being displaying extremely high levels of
martial arts prowess and/or violent emotions emits light in the form of a glowing
aura. This aura is usually blue for "Good Guys" and red for "Bad Guys". This is
attributed to Good being higher in the electromagnetic spectrum than Evil.

#30- Law of Non-Anthropomorphic Antagonism- All ugly, non-humanoid alien races are
hostile, and usually hell-bent on destroying humanity for some obscure reason.

#31- Law of Follicular Chromatic Variability- Any color in the visible spectrum is
considered a natural hair color. This color can change without warning or
explanation.

#32- Law of Follicular Permanence- Hair in anime is pretty much indestructible, and
can resist any amount of meteorological conditions, energy emissions, physical
abuse, or explosive effects and still look perfect. The only way to hurt someone's
hair is the same way you deal with demons... with bladed weapons!

#34- Law of Probable Attire- Clothing in anime follows certain predictable
guidelines: Female characters wear as little clothing as possible, regardless of
whether it is socially or meteorologically appropriate. Any female with an excessive
amount of clothing will invariably have her clothes ripped to shreds or torn off
somehow. If there is no opportunity to tear off aforementioned female's clothes,
then she will inexplicably take a shower for no apparent reason (also known as the
Gratuitous Shower Scene). Whenever there is a headwind, Male characters invariably
wear long cloaks that don't hamper movement and billow out dramatically behind them.
First Corollary (Cryo-Adaptability)- All anime characters are resistant to
extremely cold temperatures, and do not need to wear heavy or warm clothing in snow.
Second Corollary (Indecent Invulnerability)- Bikinis render the wearer
invulnerable to any form of damage.
*Third Corollary (Probable Attire permanence)- The clothing on the hero is
indestructible. Their capes, robes, (and if they are girls,) skirts, dresses, bows,
or any loose clothing will just flap when they are in the middle of a fire or ice
attack... Unless it's a hentai. It is believed that the clothes are made out of
Anime Character hair. (re. Laws 32 & 48)

#35- Law of Musical Omnipotence- Any character capable of musical talent (singing,
playing an instrument, etc. Is automatically capable of doing much more "simple"
things, like piloting mecha, fighting crime, stopping an intergalactic war, and so
on... especially if they've never attempted these things before.

#36- Law of Quintupular Agglutination- Also called "The Five-man Rule", when "Good
Guys" group together, it tends to be in groups of five. There are five basic
positions, which are:
1) The Hero/Leader
2) His Girlfriend
3) His Best Friend/Rival
4) A Hulking Brute
5) A Dwarf/Kid
Between these basic positions are distributed several attributes, which include:
1) Extreme Coolness
2) Amazing Intelligence
3) Incredible Irritation

#37- Law of Extradimensional Capacitance- All anime females have an
extrasdimensional storage space of variable volume somewhere on their person from
which they can instantly retrieve any object at a moment's notice. This mysterious
dimension is commonly called "Malletspace".
First Corollary (AKA The Hammer Rule)- The most common item stored is a
heavy mallet, costumes/uniforms, power suits/armor, and large bazookas.

#38- Law of Hydrostatic Emission- Eyes tend to be rather large in Anime. This is
because they contain several gallons of water, which may be instantaneously released
at high pressure through large tear ducts. The actual volume of water contained in
the eyes is unknown, as there is no evidence to suggest that these reservoirs are
actually capable of running out. The reason water tends to collect in the eyes is
because Anime characters only have one large sweat gland, which is located at the
back of the head. When extremely stressed , embarrassed, or worried, this sweat
gland exudes a single but very large drop of sebaceous fluid.

#39- Law of Inverse Attraction- Success at finding suitable mates is inversely
proportionate to how desperately you want to be successful. The more you want, the
less you get and vice-versa.
First Corollary- Unfortunately, this law seems to apply to Otaku in the real
world...

#40- Law of Nasal Sanguination- When sexually aroused, males in Anime don't get
erections, they get nosebleeds. No one's sure why this is, though... the current
theory suggests that larger eyes means smaller sinuses and thinner sinus tissue (see
Law #38 above). Females don't get nosebleeds, but invariably get one heck of a blush
along the cheeks and across the nose, suggesting a lot of bloodflow to that region.

#41- Law of Xylolaceration- Wooden or bamboo swords are just as sharp as metal
swords, if not sharper.

#42- Law of Juvenile Omnipotence- Always send a boy to do a man's job. He'll get it
done in half the time and twice the angst.

#43- Law of Triscaquadrodecophobia- There is no Law #43.

#44- Law of Nominative Clamovocation- the likelihood of success and damage done by a
martial arts attack is directly proportional to the volume at which the full name of
the attack is announced (known as the Kamehameha effect).

#45- Law of Uninteruptable Metamorphosis- Regardless of how long or involved the
transformation sequence or how many times they've seen it before, any "Bad Guys"
witnessing a mecha/hero/heroine transforming are too stunned to do anything to
interrupt it.

#46- Law of Flimsy Incognition- Simply changing into a costume or wearing a teensy
mask can make you utterly unrecognizable to even your closest friends and relatives.

*#47- Law of Mandibular Combustible Emission- All anime characters seem to have some
unknown chemical on their breath that reacts VERY violently with extremely hot or
spicy food. This chemical may also be responsible for the phenomenon of fire behind
the eyes and from the mouth when a character (usually a female) is really angry.

*#48- Law of Electrical and Combustible Survivalism- If you get electrocuted or
burned, YOU WILL SURVIVE!! Though your entire body will be scorched, seconds later,
your skin won't have a trace of damage (Also known as the "Pikachu Effect").
First Corollary- When a magical bad guy/Alien/monster fires off a flame,
wind, or ice attack, the resulting effect is only enough for the hero(es)/heroine(s)
to be standing in the "Walking Against the Wind" stance, with his/her eyes shut and
letting out a pathetic "Aaaaagh!", and yet they are never harmed. This may be in
part to laws 32, 34 and sometimes 44.

*#49- Law of Female wrath- If a male character insults a female character, he will
get a mallet, shotgun, or tank blast, or if she is a character that can perform
magical feats, a fireball or whatever, to the head, body or whatever (Also known as
the "Lina Inverse/Gourry Factor") This is because he always deserves it, and will
help him to cope in today's society. (>Sniff Sniff< So True!!)

*#50- Law of Artistic Perversion- Most (not all) Anime artists are perverts and are
under the impression that girls are willing to tear off their clothes, or wear VERY
small, revealing outfits at the drop of a pin (or pen for that matter).
Unfortunately, most Hentai fans are under the same impression.

*#51- Law of Uninteruptable Nominative Clamovocation- This law is a mixture of Laws
44 and 45. Regardless of how long or involved the Spell or projectile attack is, and
the likelihood of success and damage done by the volume at which the full name of
the attack is announced, or how many times they've seen it before, any "Bad Guys"
witnessing a hero/heroine quoting the incantations for an extremely powerful attack
are too stunned to do anything to interrupt it. (Also known as the "Dragon Slave
Phenomenon")

*52- Law of Telepathic Obliviousness- Most of the time, some Anime characters
(usually males) will think personal (Like that he/she has sabotaged something), or
perverted thoughts, while near some other character, WHO'S TELEPATHIC!! The reasons
for this are:
1) They forgot that the person is telepathic.
2) They just don't give a damn.
The reasons the telepathic person doesn't react are:
1) They're preoccupied with doing something else.
2) They'd rather keep the fact to themselves that they are Telepathic.
3) They just don't give a damn.

+#53- Law of Chromatic Diversity- Air can be any color of the viewable spectrum.

+#54- Law of Old Man Comic Relief- Comic relief comes in the form of a short, bald,
wise-mouthed dirty old man or alien. Or the combination of any two of those traits.
First Corollary- If old man is present, and is acting too horny, stupid,
etc., there will invariably be an old woman to whap him over the head with a frying
pan or something.

+#55- Law of the Wise Old Man- Little old Japanese men always know how it ends and
withhold the ending from anyone, especially the hero. This includes special power
weapons, ancient relics, and people who know everything.

+#56- Law of Omnipotent Unreliability- Any "Bad Guy" with Omnipotent powers/weapons
will never use those powers/weapons against the "Good Guy" until it is too late.
First Corollary- All "Bad Guys" suffer from Antagonistic Boasting Syndrome
which require all "Bad Guys" to threaten with or exemplify their prowess and not use
it against the "Good Guy".
Second Corollary- No "Bad Guy" may use any new, secret, or superior military
device without one of the following events occurring:
a) The control device being broken.
The control device being taken by the "Good Guy".
c) The control device is in fact not the real device at all and was just
"fooled" by the "Good Guy".
d) The "Bad Guy" has already lost and cannot use the device.

+#57- Law of Minimum Corneal Volume- Eyeballs may make up no less than one sixth of
the face's total surface area. More so if the case is a blonde woman.

+#58- Law of Electrical Charges in Hair- Hair attracts electricity in abundance,
resulting in two outcomes:
a) A positive charge will result in the spikes-flying-everywhere-behind-me
look.
A negative charge will result in the
hair-cascading-down-to-the-waist-in-a-single-sheet look.

+#59- Law of Ammunition Accuracy- When there are multiple types of ammunition
available (paintballs, speaker pods), non-lethal rounds will always be more accurate
when compared to "standard" or lethal shots. (Macross Plus for paintballs, Macross 7
for speaker pods)

+#60- Law of Active Female Attraction- In a comedy series, a male character's
attractiveness to women is inversely proportional to how active they pursue them.
(Tenchi, Ranma, and Makoto [OVA] have a seemingly endless supply of willing
girlfriends despite their lack of romantic skill while Happosai, Ataru, and Carrot
couldn't get a date despite [or because of] their constant attempts.)

+#61- Law of Sweat Pore Variability- When a person is embarrassed, caught in an
awkward situation, or otherwise humiliated, all sweat pores on the body contract,
except for ones on the forehead. These pores expand to such a degree that a single
drop could fill a Big Gulp from 7-11.

+#62- The Law of Inverse Training Time- A person who has been training for 3 years
is never as good as someone who has been training for one month.

+#63- Law of Needs to Few and Many- The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the
few... of even the one.

+#64- Law of Bad Humor- Whenever someone says something that is intended to be
funny, whether actually funny or not, the rest of the characters (even animals) fall
to the ground with their feet in the air. Sweat sometimes accompanies the fall.
*(The sound of a cow mooing usually accompanies the joke as well.)

+#65- Law of Extreme Anger- Whenever a female character gets mad, such as seeing the
male character with another girl, she becomes extremely strong (despite her usually
helpless look) so that she can lift a 1000 ton object to hurt the guy. She can
sometimes perform other punishments that are just as cruel such as pinching the
guy's face so hard that it changes shape. *(see law #49)

+#66- Law of Differentiated Gravitation-
First Corollary- If the airborne entity exceeds an altitude equal or greater
than two times the height of the entity, gravity is decreased by an inverse
coefficient relative to the upward momentum and mass/weight (if within at least
500 km of any gravity source) of the entity "jumping".
Second Corollary- The amount of Newtonian "opposite force" (in accordance to
normal downward velocity; "Earth gravity" speed is equal to 32ft/sec/sec) is also
inversely proportional to the "actual" speed of the airborne entity. In all
actuality, an entity that appears to be flying towards a solid concrete parking lot
from space will actually land, producing an opposite force of approximately 1.73 lb.
of pressure. Unless this particular entity is a "Bad Guy". Then the law exhibits a
mysterious exponentially proportional Newtonian opposite force, thusly increasing
this variable by a factor equal to the inverse-gravity potential.

+#67- Law of Conservation of Ambient Dramatic Tension- In any situation where the
Ambient Dramatic Tension increases, the "Good Guy's" Style Coefficient must be
increased by a proportional amount to compensate. In any situation where this does
not happen, the "Bad Guy" inevitably comes out on top. However, this usually leads
to a further rise in the Ambient Dramatic tension, which will *always* be offset by
an exponential increase in the "Good Guy's" Style Coefficient.

+#68- Law of Coercive Vehicular Control- No matter how complex or well defined the
control system, a character controlling a vehicle of any sort always does so through
means of undetectable subconscious psychokinesis.
First Corollary- Characters can perform actions with their vehicles which
clearly defy normal physics (see Laws of Metaphysical Irregularity and Constant
Thrust). The velocity, attitude and traction of the vehicle appear to be adjusted at
will, with the degree of absolute control being proportional to the complexity and
lethality of the maneuver.
Second Corollary- It is effectively impossible to remove characters from or
disrupt the passage of their vehicles without the character's consent. This does not
always apply to "Bad Guy" characters, or "Good Guy" characters in situations where
the Ambient Dramatic Tension could increase in accordance with the Law of
Conservation of Ambient Dramatic Tension.

+#69- Amendment to the Law of Conservation of Ambient Dramatic Tension- In any
situation where the Ambient Dramatic Tension increases without a corresponding
increase in the "Good Guy's" Style Coefficient, not only does the "Bad Guy" usually
come out on top, but also his Smugness Factor increases in proportion to the rise in
Ambient Dramatic Tension.

+#70- Law of The Rushing Background Effect- Whenever something dramatic occurs, a
survival instinct engages, thus rendering all incoming stimulus that is not directly
and immediately to the dramatic situation at hand a meaningless blur. This is often
referred to as "The Rushing Background Effect". Due to the increase in brain
activity and adrenaline levels in the bloodstream, the scene is often played out in
slow motion.

+#71- Law of Interdimensional Hammers- Whenever a female character witnesses a male
character of her preference performing any sort of questionable act (i.e. Looking at
another girl or anything she might construe as perverted) she can reach into an
interdimensional realm (usually behind her back) and withdraw a huge Anime Mallet of
Doom with which to whack the said male over the head with. *(see Laws # 37, 49, and
65)

+#72- Law of Instant Band-Aids- Whenever a character is injured (usually in a head
shot, maybe from a mallet whack) Band-Aids will always instantly appear on the
wounded individual (and always in pairs, set in a cross fashion). These bandages
will then, most likely, disappear by the character's next scene.

+#73- Law of Universal Edge Defense- Any projectile attack, from a blast of magic to
a hail of bullets, can be easily defended against by holding a suitably cool-looking
sword or other bladed weapon between the attacker and defender, usually so that the
edge cuts into the incoming attack(s), causing both halves to go flying harmlessly
past the defender. Observed most often in fantasy and martial arts anime.

+#74- Law of Intractable Sanity- There is no such thing as insanity in anime. When
faced with horrifying supernatural forces that would drive most men mad, anime
characters will either:
a) Die quickly (but in accordance with all other laws [e.g., slowdown and
exposition]),
Get possessed by them, especially if they are beautiful girls or men in a
position to ravish beautiful girls, or
c) Kill them, wipe the blood off their blades, and walk on whistling.

+#75- Law of Celestial Body Control- At a dramatically correct moment, a hero can
summon a sun/moon/halo to appear behind him/her to cause a dramatic silhouette.

+#76- Law of Aura of Forgetfulness- Any hero who wishes his/her identity to remain a
secret will invariably succeed regardless of disguise because everyone around
him/her will forget everything. Otherwise, how does Sailor Moon keep her disguise?

+#77- Law of Cool Hair Factor- The hair of a hero will always coalesce into thick
strands that drape his face into a dramatic fashion, regardless of wind, the
elements, etc. *(see Laws 32 & 48)

+#78- Law of Inverse Coping- Any single event will happen to the ONE character LEAST
capable of dealing with it.

*#79- Law of Martial Arts Training Invulnerability- The Myth that certain martial
arts will enable you to become so strong, that you can stop a nuclear warhead with
your bare palm. Unfortunately, for most otaku, they found the hard way that it just
doesn't work in real life...

*#80- Law of Stereotype Captain characteristics- If a captain of any type of ship is
male, he will invariably wear a big captain's cap, a long overcoat, and have a
shaggy beard and mustache (pipe optional), and be a great tactician. If the captain
is female, however, she will invariably be young, well endowed, and ditzy as a pole
(horny father optional). Yet, she too will be a great tactician.

*#81- Law of Shades/Coolness Factor- Shades can make you instantly cool, even if
you're normally a klutz.

*#82- Law of Hentai Plot- The proper response to any change in the plotline of a
Hentai anime is to start having sex.

*#83- Law of Understatement- Anything that is deemed too impossible will become
possible.
First Corollary- Any "Bad Guy" stating "T-that's impossible!" whenever the
hero is accomplishing some new feat/move/projectile will find out too late that he
is wrong and will invariably be toastied.

*#84- Law of Dormant Powers- Anytime a hero is somehow outpowered and/or outclassed
by the villain, he will invariably release powers/new moves he never knew he could
accomplish... but his old teacher did!

*#85- Law of Style Coefficient- In a situation where a Good guy may be in dire
straits, he will become stronger, smarter and more cool in a matter of seconds. (see
Laws #67, 69, and 84)

*#86- Law of Bad Guy Smugness Factor- Whenever the villain actually succeeds in
beating the hero, they will begin to gloat uncontrollably, because they've never won
against the "Good Guy" (because they're Eeeviiil!!). They usually get so cocky, they
tie the hero to a conveyor belt leading to his doom and leave to get a snack.
Usually this results in:
a) The hero escaping.
Clean-up for the underlings.
c) The villain getting toastied.


*#87- Law of Tableware Nonexistence- There IS no spoon.

*#88- Law of Goofy Turn-Ons- In Hentai, ordinary , pedestrian objects sometimes have
the magical power of either inducing orgasm or arousal. Some include warm water,
rolling on a smooth tabletop, wind, mild electrocution, the character toweling
themselves after a bath/shower, and very cold objects... like bottles of 7-up.

*#89- Law of Penile Variance- All Anime men in Hentai have a ridiculously large
penis (lengths of 8, 9, 10 and 11 inches are most common). Some even have ones the
size of telephone poles, despite the blood loss that would accompany it...

*#90-Law of Hentai Female Characteristics- All Hentai women have the following
characteristics:
1) Very sensitive and/or very large breasts with large nipples.
2) Very tight and/or sensitive vaginas.

*#91- Law of Vaginal Variance- Hentai Anime women can take penis lengths of 8" and
up... completely... despite the fact that they might have a tight and/or sensitive
vagina.

*#92- Law of Hero Identification- All heroes are introduced by way of appearance
while someone talking about their (in)famous-ness, or by way of a voice-over of them
introducing themselves.

*#93- Law of Cute Mascots- Any anime either Shojo or Shonen has GOT to have at
least one cute, furry little mascot by penalty of death!
First Corollary- If it is a Shonen Anime, the hero will be accompanied by a
Dog, Cat or any kind of animal, real or fake, that would be found with a hero of the
male persuasion. Any animal that would be associated with girls that is following
him around is there because:
1) It's his girlfriend's.
2) It is following him, despite his insistence not to do so.
3) Chicks will dig him more.
Second Corollary- If it is a Shojo Anime, the heroine will be accompanied by
a cat, cute lil' mouse, or some disgustingly cute monster, or any kind of animal,
real or fake, that would be found with a hero of the female persuasion. Any animal
that would be associated with guys that is following her around is there because:
1) It's her boyfriend's.
2) It is following her, despite her insistence not to do so.
3) It makes her look cool.

*#94- Law of The Force- Most Anime heroes are blessed with a unique sort of ability
that enables bad things to happen to those that deserve it or makes things like
bullets or debris totally miss them (Also referred to as "Dumb Luck"), even though
they are mostly unaware of it. Those who have this ability include Vash the
Stampede, Captain Justy Ueki Tylor, and Jar Jar Binks.

*#95- Law of Naughty Tentacles- All Anime Tentacles are VERY horny and will rape any
human female, regardless of age ("She's 18! No! Really, she is! I'm not lying!...")
First Corollary- Even when raped or molested by tentacles, Hentai Anime
girls eventually get into it & begin squealing in ecstasy. NO one knows WHY this is,
but some theorize there may be some kind of chemical that is secreted through the
skin of the tentacle...
Second Corollary- Women who are impregnated by a tentacle creature never
experience morning sickness, and also find it to be intensely pleasurable (Also
known as the Goofy Meter Redline Effect).
Third Corollary- Similarly, the resulting... offspring of tentacle/human
relations is immediately sexually active, often impregnating its own mother again.

*#96- Law of Cat-Fighting- Two females with a grudge can and will go at each other,
sometimes ripping off clothes. Sometimes it escalates so much, that property damage
begins to occur.
First Corollary- A running fight can be so destructive, you can follow it
from a distance just by watching for the smoke. (Also known as the "A-ko/B-ko
Thing")

*#97- Law of Healing- Most anime heroes have a Wolverine-like healing factor that
enables them to regenerate from a massive wound or broken bone within minutes. Being
immortal sometimes helps. (Also known as the "Priss Effect".)

*#98- Law of Stereotype Crew Characteristics- All ships, either waterborne or
spaceborne, have the following crew members:
1) The captain
2) His Lieutenant
3) Various female technical staff
4) A hotshot pilot
5) A cute little girl/twins (either stowaways or not)
6) The Doctor
7) The Doctor's assistant (either a spy or not)
Weighted among the crew are various quirks which include:
1) Extreme coolness/luck
2) Amazing Intelligence
3) Incredible irritation
4) Extreme cuteness
5) Irresponsible drunkenness
6) Homophobicness
7) Emotionless (Idiots.)

*#99- Law of Sparklies- Whenever a character of the main character's interest
appears, flowers, sparkles, or abstract circles of pastel colors appear around said
character, or both. Roses with exaggerated thorns appear when it is dangerous love.
No one knows why this is, though most have a theory: Anime characters are freaks! At
least, Marker Apenname seems to think so...

*#100- Law of Anime Events- Much like wrestling, anything and everything can happen.

Created by Insane Advocate and his two friends. As well as various internet sources

Macarons de Paris

Description:
Inspired to post this because I've been passing by Bizu here in Makati and one night I gave in to temptation and bought a box of these yummies.

+++
Many think of macarons as being French (duh! its called macarons de Paris!) but this pastry actually originated in Italy!
It is widely believed that the Venetians discovered the macaron during their seafaring voyages in the Renaissance era, and that the chefs of Catherine de Medici brought the recipe to France at the time of Catherine's marriage to Henri II.

++++
From the internet - For those of you unable to visit Paris, but willing to try your hand at making macarons de Paris in vôtre-même (I think this means do-it-yourself) cuisine, Louis la Vache offers this recipe as grabbed ....but I think I better stick to buying 'em.



Ingredients:
Batter

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
4 oz (1 cup) almond flour or finely ground almonds
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsps egg whites at room temperature
pinch of salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar


Buttercream Filling

2 egg whites
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp granulated sugar
4 oz (1/2 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into slices

Directions:
Batter

1. Allow egg whites to thicken by leaving them uncovered at room temperature overnight.

2. On three pieces of parchment, use a pencil to draw 1-inch (2.5 centimetre) circles about 2 inches apart. Flip each sheet over and place each sheet on a baking sheet.

3. Push almond flour through a sieve, and sift the powdered sugar. Mix the almonds and powdered sugar in a bowl and set aside. If the mixture is not dry, spread on a baking sheet, and heat in oven at the lowest setting until dry.

4. In a large clean, dry bowl whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip to stiff peaks - the whites should be firm and shiny.

5. With a flexible spatula, gently fold in icing sugar mixture into egg whites until completely incorporated. The mixture should be shiny and "flow like magma." When small peaks dissolve to a flat surface, stop mixing.

6. Fit a piping bag with a 3/8-inch (1 cm) round tip. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheets in the previously drawn circles. Tap the underside of the baking sheet to remove air bubbles. Let dry at room temperature for 1 or 2 hours to allow skins to form.

7. Bake in a 300 º F oven for 10 to 11 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to keep the oven door slightly ajar, and rotate the baking sheet after 5 minutes for even baking. You do not want the cookies to brown, nor do you want them to bake too quickly.

8. Remove the macarons from the oven and transfer the parchment to a cooling rack. When cool, slide a metal offset spatula or pairing knife underneath the macarons to remove them from the parchment.

9. Pair macarons of similar size, and pipe about 1/2 teaspoon of the filling (recette suivant) onto one of the macarons. Sandwich the macarons, and refrigerate to allow flavors to blend together. Bring back to room temperature before serving.


Buttercream Filling

1. In an electric mixer bowl, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and heat the mixture, whisking often, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until it feels warm and sugar has dissolved.

2. Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer and whip warm egg mixture on high speed using the whisk attachment until stiff and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Add the butter, one slice at a time, and continue to mix until all the butter is thoroughly incorporated. Add any flavorings and refrigerate for 1 hour or until it becomes firm. The buttercream can be kept, covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Licking the last of my Macaron de Paris crumbs from my plate....*slurp*

Fixing America's Economy: Nine Ideas from Around the World - BusinessWeek

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_25/b4233053223432.htm
Economics was one of the subjects I enjoyed very much way back in high school and college.

Course that was then and this is now...and am a far cry from that kind of arena but now and then its fun to read about ideas being applied to the US situation :-)

X-Men: First Class

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Science Fiction & Fantasy

This movie introduced me to more characters which I never bothered to google before.
I went overboard, and instead of just examining who Angel, Azazel, Riptide, Sebastian Shaw and Darwin were for starters I even went further into other characters not depicted here in the movie. Hmm..maybe they will be in the next one..?

Two bonuses for me were the cameo appearances of two very familiar and favorite X-men characters (both starring in previous movies of X-men...won't spoil it for you though *grin*) They jolted me out of my comfy seat in the moviehouse more than the rest of this film. Watch out for their brief but very notable scenes :-)

I gave the special effects a nod of approval. Though the storyline wasn't exactly mind-boggling, it was enough to also keep me happy with the progress of the film.

However, I have to frankly point out that the movie was not the of the caliber that I'd be spinning catherine wheels in jubilation while cheering until I was Mystique-blue in the face.

I just can't put my finger into it.
The formula for the movie (known actors, great special effects, catastrophic scenario for conflict etc.) is there but I'm not touched by the magic this time.

Was it because there wasn't one particular hero or heroine I could focus on?
Weren't the evil villains and the pitiful conflict in the heart of Magneto enough?
Or was it because I just wasn't overly excited and concerned about the Cuban Missile Crisis?

There was still entertainment -
I saw on the big screen all these other famous actors I've seen at one time or another (ha, I saw a guy from Sex and the City! and oh there's Oliver Platt ala MIB);
all these sexy ladies flaunting their 60s lingerie;
these costumed villains have such uber-cool powers though they didn't say much - Azazel may have fathered NightCrawler in the future but at least I could understand Kurt's accent! - and Riptide never opened his mouth to say one word at all *boo*

Some characterization had its moments - I liked the actor playing Beast showing us some very human foibles - an irony considering his beastly beauty, and Kevin Bacon was very swanky and evilicious as the energy-absorbing Mr. Shaw.

Oh, and let's not forget being shown how Charles and Eric (Professor X and Magneto) met and started off as being good friends, and how the writers have given us a story to present that not everything is simply a matter of black or white, Americans and Russians or Cubans nor is it just friend versus foe or human versus mutant.

I would love to see other prequels for the X-men series.
I just can't promise to be bowled over by them :-)

The Great Singapore Sale 2011

http://www.greatsingaporesale.com.sg/2011m/english-html/intro.html
Hala! waaah!!!!!!

this is until July 2011....

good luck! may the force of shopping be with you!

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Mozzarella and Tomatoes

Description:
I love mushrooms, never mind that sometimes I think I overdo it and have a pain in my joints after eating bushels of 'em *grin*

Because I usually can access portobello mushrooms, I grabbed the recipe from the internet.



Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing grill pan
4 large portobello mushrooms (about 5 inches in diameter), stemmed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 small to medium sized vine ripened tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 ounces fresh water-packed mozzarella, drained, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Prepare the barbecue (medium-high heat) or griller.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over both sides of the mushrooms.
Sprinkle the mushrooms with salt and pepper.
Drizzle olive oil on grill pan to prevent mushrooms from sticking.
Grill until the mushrooms are heated through and tender, about 5 minutes per side.

Whisk the extra-virgin olive oil and garlic in a medium bowl to blend.
Add the tomatoes, cheese, and basil and toss to coat.
Season the tomato salad, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Place 1 hot grilled mushroom gill side up on each of 4 plates.
Sprinkle with more salt and pepper.
Spoon the tomato salad atop the mushrooms, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil to finish, about 1 tablespoon and serve.

Background music from Dudeldrum..those bagpipes and other instruments sure sound awesome!

Shanghai Surprise!

Start:	Oct 21, '11
End:	Oct 26, '11
Location:	Shanghai, China

Called that way because I had no plans of traveling or buying a ticket for Shanghai this month.

I was chatting with a friend in Malaysia. She asked if I was still interested in going to Korea.
I said of course - if there is a bargain flight available!

Surprise! (galing naman ng timing)
.... there was a zero-fare for both domestic and international flights from Cebu Pacific, and Korea had some open dates.

But I couldn't reach her again to ask if that schedule was ok with her as she went offline.

++++
For the longest time, I wanted to visit Shanghai due to the old movies I saw depicting it as the Paris of the East.

I thought also that I could probably face one of my fears - that of backpacking in such a place as China *cross fingers*

I am gulping here because for one, remember its just been recent about that Filipina in Bali, then there was that drug mule image Filipinos sentenced in China yet! and thirdly as a woman traveler who may do this again by myself...there are bound to be issues with language again. *sigh*

Well, fortune never favored the faint-hearted.

4 days ought to be enough for a first-time visit... (the schedules for leaving are tight)

and even if some people have just the idea that Shanghai is just one big city, I would like to delve into more than just the Bund and Shanghai's "big city" image.
that its more than the initial impression...

Hey, who wants to join?

Eiga Sai 2011 in Manila (July 1 - 10)

Start:	Jul 1, '11
End:	Jul 10, '11

Philippines-Japan Friendship Month Opens on July 1
with Eiga Sai—The Japanese Film Festival

July 1 - 10 (Shang Cineplex Cinema 4, Shangri-La Plaza, EDSA, Mandaluyong City)

July 22-24 (Gaisano South City Mall, Davao City)

August 2-7 (Ayala Center Cinema,Cebu City)

August 17-20 (UP Film Institute, Diliman, Quezon City)

This year's featured films include -
Departures (81st Academy Award "Best Foreign Language Film" 2009),
The Summit: Chronicle of Stones,
The Chef of South Polar,
One Million Yen Girl,
Your Friend,
Yunagi City, Sakura Country,
Summer Days with Coo,
Climber's High,
Feel the Wind
Villon's Wife


For details, contact:

The Japan Foundation,
Manila (JFM) located at the 12th Floor, Pacific Star Building,
Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, cor. Makati Avenue, Makati City 1226,
with telephone numbers (632) 811-6155 to 58,
fax number(632) 811-6153;
and email address at email@jfmo.org.ph.

It started with the song from Celtic Woman, then I wondered what was up with the movie. The plot seems intriguing, I wonder what the secret is in "Princess Toyotomi". http://asianmediawiki.com/Princess_Toyotomi

Binangkal (Sweet Sesame Doughnut)

Description:
I remember eating this Cebuano/Bisaya doughnut (or maybe it can be called fried bread?) whenever I visited my maternal grandma's home, about 50 kilometers south of Cebu City, Philippines.



I asked a favorite foodie and adopted mom of mine in Multiply - Mommy Loy - for permission to repost as I want to be able to access it if I make some in the future.

Thanks to Mommy Loy for sharing the recipe which I copied from her link, please click here to view it.

....and I also want to thank Chelo for starting the binangkal ball rolling on this...

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 c. brown sugar (some people swear Muscovado sugar is the best!)
2/3 c. water
2 tbsp oil
Sesame seeds

Directions:
1. Sift together dry ingredients.
2. Mix brown sugar, water and oil then add to the flour mixture.
3. Mix until its well-blended.
4. With a teaspoon, take small bits of batter (it depends on how big you want it to be), then roll in the sesame seeds.
5. Fry in deep hot fat until its golden-brown.

Will people please stop with the mixing or selling of double-dead already? Que fish or pig...WTH are you doing?! How about eating it yourselves....at least maybe we can have triple-deads and feed you to the worms if they deign to eat you!

Bird flu, bovine madness, exploding watermelons etc. and now killer cucumbers! Hmm...maybe next time we will have fast-multiplying murderous dust bunnies. :-)

Licking Ghirardelli's Midnight Reverie off my fingers...chocolate overdose at past 12 midnight...its ok even if I am working.

Awe-moment: "Darkness Breaks" at Mt. Pulag, Philippines

My toes are still tingling a little bit painfully...but its an experience of a lifetime!



As cliche as that may sound, the Mt. Pulag trek I underwent from May 21-22, 2011 is a memory I will revisit every time I see anything resembling a mountain or even just a hill (be it an anthill or just a termite hill!)



This photo was shot around 5 a.m. when I was on my way from Camp 2 to the summit of Mt. Pulag.

I had just stubbed my right big toe the hardest on a jutting rock on the trail (must be the aftereffect of not enough rest and doing this much exertion)...and I was almost hopping about like a mad hatter. I had to be careful to minimize my flailing around due to the ravine on my other side.


Camera: DMC-LX5
Unedited photo except for the text.

Mt. Pulag: "Darkness Breaks"

My toes are still tingling a little bit painfully...but its an experience of a lifetime!

As cliche as that may sound, the Mt. Pulag trek I underwent from May 21-22, 2011 is a memory I will revisit every time I see even just a hill (even if anthill pa yan or termite hill!)

This photo was shot around 5 am when I was on my way from Camp 2 to the summit of Mt. Pulag.

I had just stubbed my right big toe the hardest on a jutting rock on the trail (must be the aftereffect of not enough rest and doing this much exertion)...and was almost hopping about but had to be careful due to the ravine on my other side.


Camera: LX5
unedited photo except for the text.

Fleeting View of a Baguio Sunrise

Baguio, Philippines, 21 May 2011-
Groggy and feeling zombie-like due to lack of sleep and having long limbs cramping up in a van made me somewhat grumpy.

What consoled me were the two cups of scrumptious strawberry taho and the reddish hues of the Baguio sunrise I saw when I opened my eyes as we were on our way to the DENR station before proceeding to Mt. Pulag.

I hardly get to snap sunrise pics because I sleep late. This time, even if it was from the car window, the glow from the East was a beautiful sight for my raccoon-like eyes.

Baguio is full of noxious fumes these days, a far cry from the memory of my youth...but its still a nice place to zoom by....
especially if the sun greets you with such a luscious tinge.


Unedited pics from LX5.

The surprising month of May had me traipsing all around Luzon and to think it wasn't even planned beforehand! Just the travel-thirsty-me accepting all the chances to see all the beautiful places in our Mother Nature-blessed archipelago. I can probably rightly say "I am a cat from sea to summit.." based on what somebody told me in a chat - Nasa Manila pa ba daw ako? kc kung wala daw ako sa bundok, nasa dagat naman ako...LOL

"Its Not Lonely at the Top"

What a marvelous view from the top of this peak...and we had food and drinks too :-)

When you've got friends who hike with you to the highest peak, its never lonely at the top!

With Andrea (Nidz), Agnes and Dingdong
at Gulugod Baboy (Pig Spine),
Mabini, Batangas, Philippines
on the 14th of May 2011

Taken with my waterproof G3WP which has stitching feature on the fly.
Unedited except for the caption.

2 a.m. Back from Mt. Pulag. 2:30 a.m. Hungry in Makati. Regret? I wasn't able to appease my longing for Pizza Volante in Baguio earlier.

Two servings of strawberry taho in Baguio...perfect finish of our drive to the "City of Pines" from Edsa Central.

Boiling water in my batirol. Tis raining, so its time to do the highly-revered tradition passed down from generation to generation - the most sacred sikwate ritual....

Checklist for Cold Weather Mountain Trek/Camping

Clothing:

* Dri-fit blouse and pants, similar material underwear
Thermal wear
* Extra pairs of socks, dri-fit
* Arm and leg warmers
Gloves
Scarf
* Hat/Bonnet
* Waterproof jacket/windbreaker preferably with hood
* Sweater for layering, material preferred is cashmere to keep you warm
Balaclava
* Hiking shoes which can let water pass through - my Merrel Waterpro Maipo may do the trick I think
Raincoat - maybe I can substitute using a garbage bag and cutting it *grin*
Slippers - some treks have bathing areas after the descent

Toiletries:

* Sunblock
* Chapstick - cold weather cracks lips
*  Bag with overnight supply of soap/shampoo/toothbrush/toothpaste/deodorant; comb
* Insect repellent
* Medicine tablets such as anti-diarrhea, headache,anti-inflammatory etc., band-aid, anti-inflammatory cream ...
* Vitamins
* Travel towel - if bigger one, may function also as blanket
* Wet ones/baby wipes
* Antibacterial spray or alcohol


Equipment:

* Camera and memory cards
* Cellphone, Indiglo watch
* Charger for phone/camera/ extra batteries
Tripod - maybe if its a very sturdy one, if all else fails use as walking stick? hehehe


Sustenance-related:

* Trail food/mix, nuts, bread, cheese - maybe the cold weather will act as ref
* Water bottle
* Liquids: water and other replenishment liquids
Tupperware with handy spoon/fork or chopsticks


Others:

* Flashlight/Headlight (my keychain usually has a small maglite)
* Swiss knife
* Plastic bag - one for laundry, other for garbage bag
* Trekking bag with cover to protect it from rain
* Freezer bags
Three-fold umbrella
* Dry bags for camera and other important stuff
Sleeping bag
Tent - rent or share
Earth pad - forego if there is some other coats or clothes and use them
Travel blanket/pillow
Carabiner key hooks - part of bag
Walking stick - or pick up one on the trail?
* Extra foldable or dry bag
* Fanny bag for easy reach of important stuff, or maybe a small body bag


Note:
Those marked with * are must-haves for me

Batangas, A Visit to Mabini

Start:	May 14, '11
End:	May 15, '11
Location:	Anilao, Mabini, Batangas, Philippines

for documentation purposes -

went with Nidz, Agnes and Dingdong.

stayed at Bontoc in Batangas B&B

Tinette missed it as due to her twisted ankle

visited Gulugod Baboy,
island hopped to Sombrero but didn't dock at Maricaban and others
food tripping galore

Climb for a Cause: Mt. Pulag

Start:	May 20, '11 10:00p
End:	May 22, '11
Location:	Bokod, Benguet, Philippines

Climb for A Cause PULAG -
c/o Anywhere Philippines
May 20-22 weekend


To benefit the students of Kamaggaan Elementary School in Tikey, Bokod, Benguet.




Using: Ambangeg Trail