I'm a Freak!

Today, when I looked at my desktop, I freaked out. Why? Because there were four rows of icons of various files that I have not sorted out yet! For those who know me, I am a very messy person, but when it comes to the files on my computer, I make it a point to store them in folders (and if they cannot be sorted, always be ready with a folder named "find files here" to make the desktop look cleaner).

The normal number of rows of files on my desktop? One. At most two, whenever there are new files I need to find ASAP, but never more than that. I don't even have desktop shortcuts on the desktop. Whenever I install a new program or software, I delete the shortcut automatically created. There's the task bar where all the things I need frequently are kept.

So there, I'm a freak. But I guess it's in a good way. :)

Oki Oki Review--Is it Really OK?

Rating: 2/5

Prior to writing this post, I searched for reviews about Oki Oki, a Japanese restaurant with a branch at TriNoma because I wasn't sure about its name. Mostly, I saw positive reviews, but I don't think I share the same thoughts with them.

Why?

Before you read further, you should know that my basis of how great a Japanese restaurant is is their Katsudon. That's friend pork with egg on top of rice. I have tasted a lot of Katsudon dishes from various stores, but the one that I love the most is still the one found locally in Los Banos, Laguna, where I live. As for the Katsudon at Oki Oki, its serving was huge! I was not able to finish it all, and if you know me, I try my best not to have any leftover food on my plate because I have any food going to waste. But their serving was really too much for me.

Katsudon, PhP195

On the other hand, my friend, Karen, loves Gyudon, so she ordered a Gyudon meal set complete with miso soup and iced tea. Just like their Katsudon, and I think all of their other dishes, it was served in an overwhelming quantity. If you are a big eater, this restaurant can fill you up!

 

Gyudon set from top to bottom:  Miso Soup  Iced Tea, , and Gyudon, PhP 195

Since we love Japanese food and wanted to try out other dishes, I decided to order a serving of Yaki Gyoza and Karen chose a skewered dish that I forgot the name already.

Yaki Gyoza. This order was supposed to be fried. 

What did I expect from the gyoza? Meat. What did I get? Ginger. But hey, there are various gyoza varieties, so I can't judge them poorly just because I didn't like their recipe. The five pieces were already too much as a side dish for me.











Karen ordered these skewered shrimps, which I forgot the name already. For her, they tasted overly sweet, but for me it was okay. I'm usually the one that likes sweet dishes, that's why. :)






I just have to say that Oki Oki needs to add more stuff outside their counters and cooking areas. When we visited, there was only one waitress (green shirt) and I'm assuming that the other female helping her out occasionally was the manager because of her different uniform. Just imagine how hard the waitress had to work and shuffle all over the room just to accommodate everyone. I felt really tired for her because the place was packed and she had to alternate in ushering them in, seating them, taking their orders, serving them, and addressing their food concerns.

One or two more waitresses would have made it all better, even if that meant adding service charge to the total bill.

Dessert Alert! Parvati Review

Rating: 5/5! :)

For some time now, Karen has been asking me to go to this desserts and pasta place called The Parvati Store, which she saw on Facebook. But since we don't like commuting very far often, we tend to keep to Glorietta and Greenbelt to hang out. The nearest Parvati branch was at TriNoma. So when we finally had something to do at TriNoma (Karen attended a wedding planning seminar there), we said we would not leave until we have tried this place!

But luck wouldn't allow us to eat at the small branch since it was always loaded with diners. Their food must have been really popular--not even a single chair was empty! As a last resort, we just decided to get two of their famous desserts to go--macarons and truffles! And I have to tell you, you should try these out! 

Choco Truffles, PhP299. You simply need to taste these! 

Box of 12 Assorted Macarons in four flavors (chocolate, vanilla, salted caramel, and  queso de bola), PhP350

Excuse me for the poor quality of photos. The lighting in our condo is mostly dim and yellowish, thus, flash or no flash, I can never get the quality right. 

Let's move on to the taste. There isn't really anything else to say but that these desserts are to die for! I highly recommend that you get these macarons and truffles home with you. Oh, and it has a long life even away from the refrigerator. Trust me. We had to travel from TriNoma to the Ayala MRT Station, shopped at Forever 21 at SM Makati and spent some time at various shops in Glorietta before we finally decided to come home and eat our desserts. Even then, the desserts were still delectably amazing. I couldn't help but sigh with every bite. 

Because of these treats, now I have a reason to brave the MRT just to visit TriNoma. I will definitely try this again. :)

Restaurant Review: Krazy Garlic

Rating: 3/5 

Last year my friend and I got a privilege card from The Bistro Circle, which entitled us to a 20% discount and is valid at any branch of their seven bistros and restaurants (namely Fridays, Italianni’s, Fish & Co., The Stock Market, Flapjacks, Pig Out and Krazy Garlik). But since then, we were always loyal to Friday's. It was only tonight that we decided to try another restaurant--Krazy Garlik at Greenbelt. 

So how was Krazy Garlik? My verdict would be that it's a so-so restaurant, one that I would try again sometime IF I have no other choice. Why? Let me recall the incidents of tonight.

We were ushered into a booth near the entrance of KG. We were seated and were asked our order by the manager (we didn't know then that he was the manager). Upon ordering, we heard him relay our order to one of the uniformed waitresses which confirmed the order to us. 

We ordered Flat Iron Steaks, with the mashed potato substituted with rice, Tweedle Dum, and Chocolate Milkshake. I have to raise the issue that I specifically ordered for their Tweedle DEE beverage, but the waiter (manager) could not understand it and misheard that I was ordering Tweedle DUM thrice even after my constant repetition of the word. I even pointed at the menu where the word was written for him to understand it correctly, but he never did understand. In the end, since Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee only had one different ingredient, I decided to just let him have his way and ordered Tweedle Dum instead. 

Flat Iron Steak with Mashed Potatoes Substituted with Rice

Flat Iron Steak with Mashed Potatoes Substituted with Rice

And when our steaks came, they were loaded with mashed potatoes after we mentioned twice that it was to be substituted with rice. The server hurried into the kitchen to fix this, but I can't say he hurried in returning it to us. Basically, the time it took for them to cook their steak was as long as it took them to change mashed potatoes into rice. 

Chocolate Milkshake

Tweedle Dum

The food was great. The milkshakes were great, too. Tweedle Dum tasted great and it was in a tall glass. My only complaint is that they should have put a longer straw in it to make sure that it could reach the bottom of the glass. But it's not a big deal. My friend's chocolate milkshake tasted good (according to her), but it didn't look like chocolate milkshake to me. For one, it was colored white. Was it vanilla milkshake? I don't know. They did not specify in their menu that they would use white chocolate in the shake, so it baffled us. I wasn't able to ask her if it tasted like chocolate either. 

The size of the steak was just enough to fill our stomachs. It wasn't like at Friday's where I could barely finish one serving (not to mention the serving of rice in Friday's is way more than the serving in KG, but hey, a PhP300 difference goes a long way in terms of serving size, so I guess it's just the right serving). 

Now on to the bill. When we asked to bill out, it took them an awfully long time to give the bill. Why? It seemed that they could not find our privilege card. They asked us at first if we had one, and we said yes, we gave it to the first man who served us, the manager, before we ordered. The server said there was no problem and she would just adjust our bill to reflect our 20% discount. So we waited. 

And we waited. 

And she came back to us again asking for the name on the card. Usually after taking our card at Friday's, the server would return it immediately without any hassle. At this point I was skeptical. Had they lost our card? Hopefully not. I hoped it was just coincidence that after taking our order, their manager was suddenly nowhere to be seen. 

Thankfully, after more waiting, they were able to locate the card and gave us our change. We were on our way home after that.

The verdict? I would try out Krazy Garlik again, but not that often unless they change their ways. They seem to lack coordination in their actions. For me, they are not that organized yet (I am hoping for some improvement). 

Have you tried eating at KG before? How was it? :)

Movie Review: Underworld Awakening

Rating: 3/5

After about a month of hibernating inside our unit and living on takeout food, I have finally gotten the chance to get out again and enjoy myself. Work can really be a bitch sometimes, but hey, I can't complain. I was really excited about this movie (I wanted to watch it so bad months ago when I first saw its trailer). To be honest, I was never a fan of Underworld. I only saw Rise of the Lycans and a few scenes from the other Underworld movies. As I headed for the cinema, I was really excited.

What can I say about the movie? The plot was not that great. The movie was packed with action scenes more than a good flow of story. With 1 hour and 30 minutes (approx) of screening time, I think the producers would have been able to squeeze in more. A few more minutes of screen time wouldn't have hurt if it could add to the thickness of the plot too. And the end was not expected, since it came too soon and there was a huge cliffhanger, possibly for a new movie in a year or so.

As for the graphics, let's just say that I have outgrown the fear of CGI monsters and creatures a long time ago. At twenty-two, I believe that everything I see in the cinemas is mediocre. But hey, it may just be the Computer Science student in me talking. Whenever  I see a sprinkling of big bad scary Lycans on screen, what comes to mind is how poor/great the graphics was. So there, the imposing creatures didn't really have an effect on me. I can't say the same for my friend though, because she kept covering her eyes and whimpering whenever the Lycans in their true forms were shown. She said she had the creeps for such creatures, hence the cringing. (Just a quick note, I am BAD at commenting on movies especially in the graphics aspect. I'm hard to please and all that. :D)

Personally, the choice of actors were great. Kate Beckinsale (Selene) was effortlessly the hottest vampire in town (if you don't count Mia Kirshner whom I loooove). It was my first time to see India Eisley (Eve) act, and   this kid really has a future in the acting industry. I would have loved to see more screen time for Theo James (David) though. Even Kris Holden-Ried (Quint) acted his part out great.

If you haven't watched this movie yet, go and see if you agree with my review or not. :)

A New Chapter

It is weird wanting to revive a blog that had been dormant for over five years. There's that gap from 2006-2012 that I will never be able to take back. And I regret not being able to write any of the adventures during that time, especially since a lot of things has happened. Those were some of the best years of my life, the experiences of which had been scattered around various blogs and diary entries in the computer and on paper.

I can only sigh and hope that this time I can commit to being a better blogger and writer.

And so, the new chapter of my life begins.

conver...

and cyan walks alone.

nobody sees the tears she sheds as she crosses the bridge.

the sky turned gray, she noticed.

i give up...

she clasped the note tightly, thinking against herself to tear it to pieces.

there's nothing more to continue...

as she reached the center of the hanging structure, she stopped. she remembered something again.

that line...that last line... she held the iron bars, borrowing force from them...

and thus...with this kiss...

i die...

to prove her intention to end her life, she jumped off the bridge.

14 lines...

if i come upon you on the streets

amiling faintly as you pass, would you notice

the sparkle in my eyes as you walk past ahead,

oblivious of my funny existence?

if you came upon me singing a song,

would you sing aloud and add some tune

to atone for the punishment of forgetting?

your fault, would you be sincerely regretting?

if i come upon you sitting alone in tears

would you allow me to provoide your needs

as if i were to you an important being

or a doctor for remedy you are consulting?

is this lonely heart of mine able

to penetrate the walls around your level?

bakit?

Dahan-dahan akong naglakad sa maputik na daan patungong Math Building. Alas diyes pa lang. Isang oras pa bago ang klase ko sa Math17, pero nandito na ako. Bakit?

Hindi ko alam...siguro dahil tinatamad akong umuwi sa bahay at bumalik ulit maya-maya. Hindi naman kasi ako nagdo-dorm katulad ng iba na nakakapagpahinga kahit sandaling oras.

Isa pa ay nasanay na din ako ng ganito. Pagkatapos ng klase ko sa Hum1, pumupunta na ako dito. Minsan ay kasama ko ang kaklase ko, minsan hindi.

Miyerkules na naman. Walang break ang mga klase ko kundi ito lang. Pagkatapos ng Math17, takbo naman sa PhyScie Building para sa apat na oras ng IT1.

Bakit nga ba IT1 ang kinuha ko? Siyempre, dahil Computer Science ang kurso ko, naisip kong makaktulong ito. At kahit papaano naman ay may silbi.

Hindi ko siya naabutan...maaga siguro silang umawas...

“Uy! Nakatulala ka dyan!” tawag ng kaibigan ko. Napansin siguro niya na nakatulala ako sa libro na dapat ay inaaral ko.

“'no nangyayari sa'yo?”

“Wala...”sagot ko.

Heto na naman ako. Wala na naman sa sarili. Hindi alam ang gagawin Tahimik at walang kibo. Minsan tinatamad akong magsalita...katulad ngayon. Naisip ko tuloy, paano kaya kung tuluyan akong hindi makapagsalita...

“Jed!”

Ayun, si Diane, tinatawag ako.

“Waha! Nakita mo ba siya kanina?”

“hindi...”

Nakakatawa naman ang ikinikilos ko ngayon. Para akong nababaliw! Dahil siguro ito sa dami ng mga dapat kong tapusin. Hindi na ako maka-pagconcentrate.

“Sige, una na ako... pumasok na sila eh...” paalam ko kay Diane.

Ewan ko kung anong nangyari at kung papano. Ang naalala ko nalang ay ang paglabas kasama ng isang kaklase sa IT1. Anong nangyari sa Math?

Hindi ko alam...

Umaambon... sira pa naman ang payong ko...masakit na ang paa ko sa pag-akyat papuntang ikatlong palapag...at pareho kaming ng kasama ko. Sa sobrang pagod siguro ay hindi na kami nag-usap. Isa pa, wala din naman ako sa mood dumaldal ngayon.

Eto, Math na ulit...ano bang nangyari sa Lab namin kahapon? Ah...yung Programming namin na itinuloy dahil hindi natapos noong Miyerkules. Pupunta ako sa Library para maghanap ng mga makakatulong sa'kin sa Math.

Masaya ang Huwebes. Wala akong klase ng 1-4 kaya lang meron akong SocSci1 ng alas kwatro. Sayang naman, hindi pa tinuloy ang pahinga ko. Masakit pa rin ang paa ko dahil sa PE namin kanina.

Malas naman! Wala pa akong reaction paper!
Wala ang usual na kasama ko sa paghahanap ng mga libro. Noong huwebes ko pa sila huling nakita...isang linggo na pala. Hay...pati pala sila nakalimutan ko na.

Magtatampo na siguro sila sa'kin...

Pasensya na, busy ako eh...

Buti nalang malamig ang napili kong lugar dito sa library...

Teka, naisip ko, dapat may ginagawa ako ngayon dito, hindi ang pagtingin lang sa mga dumadaan at pagpansin sa kung anu-anong ingay.

Oo! Tama! Yung tula na pinapagawa sa'kin...at yung kwento...

Natatambakan na ako ng 'sangkatutak na papel...

Pero ano bang isusulat ko? Ano bang magandang nangyari sa buhay ko ngayong Freshman ako?
Wala.

Pati ba pag-iisip ko maikli na lang din? Ano ba yan... ngayon na-isip ko na, hindi pala nakakatuwa kapag “wala” lang ang maririnig mong sagot sa mahahaba mong tanong. Teka, sa dami kaya ng sinabihan ko ng maiikling salitang tulad ng “wala”, “ewan”, at “hindi”, ilan ang nagalit at nainis?

Ah, alam ko na. Isusulat ko nalang yung martes na Second long exam namin sa Math at kailangan kong magmadali papuntang Baker para sa PE...

Tama! Naaalala ko yung araw na 'yon. Nagmamadali akong nagsagot ng pagsusulit namin para hindi ma-late sa susunod na klase. At ano ang nakakainis do'n? Pagtapak ko sa labas ng building bumuhos ang kanina pa nagbabadyang ulan. Self-Defense, all-white ang damit. At umulan. Putik ang naging design ng suot ko sa sobrang lakas ng ulan. Hindi ko na kinaya dahil basa na din ang medyas ko. Tumigil ako at nagpatila sa PhyScie.

Ayan, absent na naman ako dahil sa Math!

Bloc meeting na ang susunod kaya pumunta na ako sa SU pagtila ng ulan. At pag-upo ko sa third floor, ayun. Strike two ang pagbuhos.

Madaming stranded dito. Hindi lang ako...

“Miss, gusto mong dito sa upuan umupo?” tanong ng isang lalakeng hindi ko naman kilala. Nakatingin siya sa'kin. Napansin siguro niya na sa mababang lamesa ako nakaupo.

“hindi, salamat nalang...”tugon ko.

Buti pa siya, kaya niyang makipag-usap sa mga hindi niya kakilala. At mabait siya...

Ako? Hindi ko kaya. Ni hindi nga ako makapasyal mag-isa eh! Ewan ko ba, pero kapag may kasama naman ako, hindi naman ako tahimik talaga. Lalo na kapag mga matagal ko nang kilala...

Naalaa ko tuloy sila...ang mga ka-close kong iniwanan ko ng hindi ko alam... ewan...siguro minsan dadating talaga sa buhay natin 'to...minsan kailangang magsakripisyo...

...pero...bakit?
Nakita ko ang relo sa harap ng computer habang nanonood ako ng videos at nagtatype. 10:40! Nakalimutan ko! Malapit nang mag-umpisa ang klase ko! At may quiz nga pala kami ngayon! Ano ba 'yan!

Bad trip!

empty mode

i don't feel like writing anything today...

wah!!! what hapened to me??

nabasa ako ng ulan...

asan na kaya best ko???

=(

the worst...

"...some of the souls of those who had died just can't find a vessel simply because they can't- because they've committed so evil a crime that they cannot be forgiven eternally but are made to suffer through haunting..."

weee.....3.0 sa math17!!!!1

wahhh!!!T.T pano naman yun!!!! barely passing nalang ako sa math17!!! bwahahah!!! okei lang kaya pang bawiin.... kakayanin pa!!!! wala pa namang october weh?!!
sa next sunday may field trip ako sa Tagaytay!!!! yipee!!!

kaya lang next day exam namin sa math....T.T pano naman kaya yun?!!!

maulan!!!!

iie!!! how sad naman..hindi ako ulit nakapasok sa PE ko...:( hay naku...lakas kasi ng ulan...tapos nagtest pa kaming Math... kelangan ko nang umalis para makahabol sa PE tapos ayun...umulan na....Saya no? hay naku!!!

peace be with me...

ok, dagdag singko ulit sa math17! buhay pa ako, promise...eto pa, Hindi ako umattend ng PE2 ko....nice, diba?
tinatamad ako magsulat ngayon ng kahit ano...pero malapit na deadline ng short story...tapos may reaction paper pa ako sa SOcSci...hay...buhay...
sa lahat nga pala ng nabulabog ng sinabi kong si Chunhyang ang Apo sa My Girl, peace tayo....:)
tapos sa mga naduduling na jan...ANG KAPAL NG MUKHA MO!!!!GRRR...GALIT AKO SA YO!!!!
un lang po....

endless...

wapak!!! hindi na ulit ako marunong!!!bhawawa

testing lang

hehehe...