met up saturday with karen for a little RNR.

we had dinner at sizzling pepper steak, one of the numerous grub places in trinoma. they serve you your order in a very hot sizzling plate, half-cooked. you then flip and mix your food till it's ready. i got myself the beef pepper rice which looked and tasted a bit like tokyo tokyo's beef misono, karen got the seafood version, and the tori karaage which are chicken fillet strips with a garlicky flavor. the food is a bit pricey but it's worth it.


we were supposed to watch a movie but decided instead to have coffee and just talk. after which, we headed to timezone. we played several games and we got so into it that we din't realize that we had won a gazillion tickets. (okay it was only a hundred. killjoy.) before we left we exchanged them for a spongebob stuffed toy for karen and a smiley keychain for moi.


mmmkay i realize that this post reeks of crap and insignificance. so what? life is full of nonsense and silliness anyways. why should i be any different?

yay for inane posts!

last sunday, me and karen met up with her high school friends and had dinner at texas roadhouse over at bonifacio high street.

the menu consists of TGIF/outback type grub tho not as tasty. i settled for ranch rattler chicken (chicken fillet topped with bacon, melted cheese and chopped tomatoes slathered with barbecue sauce) which really hit the spot. i'm definitely coming back for a second serving.

(actually, what i really loved were the free peanuts the waiters served us. they were extraordinarily crunchy and if it were up to me, i would've stuffed my face till i was full so i wouldn't have ordered anymore but wooteva.)

after that, we had coffee at seattle's best. karen sprung me a surprise, a thank-you gift of some sort because i bought her vertical horizon tickets:

i've been itching to pick up this graphic novel for the longest time because it's supposed to be really good and shit, with lots of symbolisms and metafictional references. god knows how much i need more worldly knowledge to fill up my stupid head.

i go now.

saturday me, pe, kel and ohme went to balsa sa niugan, one of the more popular hangout places in my beloved hometown. most weekends we just stay at our place and just help ourselves to liters and liters of red horse so that night we decided a little change in scenery was in order.


we talked about a lot of stuff duing the session. upcoming goodbyes, new beginnings and everything in between. it gave me a sense of joy, knowing how far we've come as friends. it's always amusing to reminisce about the fact that when we all started hanging out, all we did was play basketball and arcade games. conversation topics were limited to shallow, impersonal stuff.


the rain started to pour, and so did opinions, ideas and plans: honest, unbidden and sincere. we talked nonstop for hours till a waiter told us that it was time for last call. we told him we've had anough already and we'd just nurse our remaining beers.


we finished just over half a case of red horse that night. even kel, our resident non-alcoholic, made it to 2 bottles before passing out going to the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face and bidding us adieu. i went home with a more-than-your-average buzz, my mind a hazy slush of alcohol and memories. right then and there, i knew.

this was the start, the first of many endings.

one of the hazards of working odd hours in an ad agency is finding food in the middle of the night during the long, strenous stretches of overtime. since for obvious reasons the choices are very limited, we content ourselves in procuring goods from the nearest convenience stores near our building in salcedo street. instant pancit cantons, canned tuna and assorted chips give us much-needed sustenance to face the trials and tribulations ahead.

god, we look like the backstreet boys on this one. ok everybody now: "I WANNNIT THAAAAAAT WAAAAAYYYY...."

lookie what we have here. what's this, the chosen drink for PEDOPHILES?!
(photos by officemate and over-all hyper kid ino. check out more of his awesome photography skills HERE. and please, if you ever commission him to do some work for you, don't leave sweets lying around.he tends to get a bit.. restless.)

after a couple of weeks of rain, the sun finally shone this morning, so me and karen finally had the chance to go out after a week of not being able to see each other. i had trouble enough going to work while the skies wreaked havoc on the metro a few days ago, so you can just imagine if i had to meet up with her after office hours. the trip home would be killer. (what's that? larry the wuss has no time for the gf you say? fuck you. you don't live in malabon so you have no idea whatcher talking about.)

we met up in trinoma earlier this afternoon to look around and to exchange that darned pair of shoes i got for her that were too big. i also got myself a new pick to match my new guitar. *ahem* after a few hours, i told her that i'd finally do something i'd promised her a while back, and that is to take her to mister kabab for dinner.


mister kabab is a small resto located at the corner of west avenue and quezon avenue that serves a slew of heavenly middle-eastern grub. the place was introduced to me by friends way back when i was still studying in UP, and i have tons of fond memories there. i remember countless lunch breaks when we would trek the traffic-filled streets from the university going to this place just for a quick meal.

we arrived at kabab a few minutes later, and we had to wait a bit because of the number of people waiting to be seated. once inside, i immediately beckoned to a waitress and placed our orders: 2 plates of special chelo-kabab* and a plate of keema with eggplant. while waiting for our orders, i told karen a few pointers. well actually, just two:

one, to slather her plate with as much sour cream sauce as humanly possible, and;

two, to use the hot sauce sparingly. (it was decievingly normal, but after the time i put on a little too much of the stuff and my tongue became swollen for weeks, i learned to respect the red sauce which i hear was forged from the depths of hell by the devil himself.)

i wanted to order other dishes so she could sample more of the food there, but knowing how filling the chelo-kababs were, i decided against it. the meal was awesome as usual, and i had to order an extra round of sinful rice** to finish off my kababs. karen liked it so much she even ordered take-out so she can have more keema goodness tomorrow for lunch. guess i'll just have to take her back there one of these days. she hasn't tried the shakes yet. and the shawarma. and the-- nevermind.

i'll stop talking now cause i'm getting hungry again and i'm starting to munch on our sofa.

* curiously, this is a consistent order for me everytime i go here. wtf.
** sinful rice, because it's topped with a large block of margarine. tasty, yes. sinful, VERY.

went to trinoma sunday afternoon with my sister to look for the shoes i wanted to buy karen (which, as it turned out, was a size too big for her, but that's a different story. loser.) after walking for hours, we decided to stop and eat before heading home. we dragged our weary legs to the food section oustide the mall and after much debate, kaye and i decided to eat at heaven and eggs. she hasn't gone there in a long time, and i haven't EVER so it was a pretty convenient choice. besides, after the sister told me they served large-ass plates i was sold, glutton that i am.


we sat in one of the empty booths (1) and started rifling through the menu, ignoring the incessant growling of my rabid stomach. i chose the one recommended by the manager and kaye chose some chicken dish, and we talked a bit while waiting for our food. (2 & 3) when our orders came, i suddenly remembered my sister's words. large-ass plates indeed. i think i was already full halfway through our meal. (4) after a while of arguing with myself about the ethical repurcussions of leaving the table to puke in the corner, i found myself staring at the empty space where my fried steak was. i had visions of myself refilling the plate with my stomach's contents. i decided to ask for the bill and pay before that happened.

good thing we decided to walk to SM north to ride an FX home. at least i burned quite a bit of that grub.

+ + + +

finally got to watch HP. me and kaye (who LOVES the whole series so much it's nauseating) saw it when we got home. blurry visuals and barely-audible sounds as only pirated DVD's can bring.

• it was sucky to see the changes they made to the story, and the fast-tracking/omitting of some of the details in the book.

• where's the grandeur? the big scenes? the death of sirius should have meant more.

• i really hate the new dumbledore.

procrastinator rating: 5.5 out of 10 stars

P.S. the walking din't do shit. i was still full when i went to sleep.

had dinner earlier tonight with the cousin and the gf over at new bombay near the RCBC plaza (which roughly translates to 'i don't know the exact location of the resto, even the street it's in so yeah.')


the place is nicely built, with a spacious, well-lit interior and clean surroundings. the menu doesn't deviate from the usual fare i see on other indian-themed eateries but the chicken masala, butter naan and some empanada-like veggie treat i consumed (also, by 'consumed' i meant 'eat voraciously without regard for self-esteem') was just so sumptuous that i quickly forgot my resolve to eat less during evenings. i left the place sweaty and smelly, but happy.

+ + + +

a conversation while smoking outside after having dinner:

cousin leo: guys, what does 'aum' mean in the resto logo?

karen the gf: i dunno.

cousin leo: i know! it's what the indians say when they meditate! (does a meditating pose) 'AUM'!

me: wrong cuz. ano yan, para pag me nagtanong sa yo kung saan ka kumain. sagot mo 'AUM... sa new bombay.'

cousin and gf: *groan*

(so okay i had trouble constructing the title of this entry, only to find out that i shouldn't have worried about the grammar but the CONTENT. apparently indians have every right to the swastika. because i love being an ignoramus, i've decided to keep the original title amidst the heavy evidence that is history. power to the people!)