Midway month 1 of 2012

Kiddo and I, day before Christmas in our first home...

How time flies and how amazing so many things can happen in a span of one year! So how was 2011 for me? It was bittersweet. I finally get Charles Dickens on how some season may be the best and worst of times at the same time.

As I write this blog, room mate, kiddo and I have moved to our condo unit, some thirty minutes away from our office. Oh the price of freedom. Steep but worth it. Most of the financial rewards we got last year was spent on our furniture, appliances and beddings. It was good to at least start somewhere, isn't it? I can walk/run, swim and go to the gym whenever I want to--ideally.

I have been promoted to Senior Account Manager in the firm I am working on, and I must say it was such a wonderful thing to experience, especially when you know you are seriously passionate about what you are doing. Although I can say that this year may be a turning point in my professional career as I have other plans, this firm is one of the best things that ever happened to me. Where I worked hard and got acknowledged for it--well, 70 percent of the time. I love most of the people I work with, my boss and I love my clients. In a few days, I will be flying out of time--Cebu and Davao for a roadshow of media launches. With that, I am so back :)

So, what is there to look forward to in 2012?

A lot. That deserves another blogpost all together. So for now, I hope you had the happiest holidays!!

Tomato Kicking and then some Bookay Ukay

So last weekend was a treat as it was 4 glorious days of nothingness. So what do you do when you dont have anything planned? You eat of course.

So, room mate, with yaya and kid in tow decided we ought to try the restaurants in UP Village, not having tried it ever--despite studying in the area for 5 years. So, first try, we picked Tomato Kick.

Tomato Kick is a quaint  restaurant located along Maginhawa St., in UP Village. It is located atop the al fresco deck of the building and it had the indie vibe so I made a mental note to try the place at night. According to inquirer.net, Tomato Kick is owned by Moonstar 88's Paolo and Mara Bernaldo.

Anyway, kiddo wanted rice so I got her Chicken Alfredo. I also ordered fajitas, rice fajitas, quesadilla and room mate got chilly cheese dog--which is probably his staple "safe" order. The Quesadilla was quite disappointing. It was so thin and there wasn't much cheese. The Chicken and Beef fajitas were quite sad as well. It was too salty and salt  masked the taste of the chicken and beef.

I like the chicken alfredo though because it was so creamy and the chicken was just right. Room mate also like his chilly hotdog.

Tomato Kick's Chicken Alfredo is yum! 

Tomato Kick's Chicken Fajitas with Rice 

Whats left of the Quesadilla

Tomato Kick Fajitas--I like mine un-wrapped though  because it leaves me  room to select whatever stuff I want in it 

Artsy fartsy signange. Try their branch along Katipunan too. 

We also went to the next door bookstore--Bookay Ukay which offers the most interesting array of second hand books and trinkets. Its so easy to get lost in the whole book experience, but with a kid in tow, you are always reminded.

The sign said "Rage Against Conformity. Rise Above Mediocrity. Read." And I say, Amen.

Bookay Ukay sells books and other interesting whatnots. They sell  beer bottles too. No kidding. 

Oooh! A REAL typewriter! I know someone who will love this. 

Bookay Ukay's wall.

Tomato Kick 
# 55 Maginhawa St., UP Village QC
www.tomatokick.multiply.com
(02) 4895503

Bookay Ukay

www.bookay.multiply.com

More Tomassi Please?

In Italian, Tomassi must have meant tomato (most obvious translation at least). In Tomas Morato, Quezon City, Tomassi is this recently opened little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant that offers an alternative to the Italian restaurants that have surprisingly mushroomed around the metro.

So, one spontaneous afternoon, upon the recommendation of our foodie friend, girlfriends and I went. The place still smells of fresh paints ha. That's how new this place is! First thing I noticed are the walls. Very much like the other Italian restaurants in town, Tomassi has the obligatory mural wall, but theirs is faux painting (mottling?). Even the bathroom looked pretty with all the faux flowers.

It took a while before my dates arrived so I ordered minestrone soup and some appetizer because I was famished (the name of which I totally forgot). Soup was good. It was pretty but properly sour which I really loved. I thought, well, it looks promising this restaurant.

I was almost alone that afternoon, save for another lady in another table so the service was pretty fast! The waitress was also very friendly and she even helped me connect to a wifi.

Tomassi's Minestrone soup is love!

Italian eating  is best done with girl friends with seriously good appetite =)

Anyway, when my dates arrived, we ordered two Clementina Chops and Pesto pasta. Since I am not very fond of rice, I had mine replaced with anything but. So the waitress offered more buttered vegetables instead, which is really very nice of them. They even gave us loads of free breads and dips while waiting for the main course! Oh, carbs galore.

Tomassi Clementina Chops

The chops were huge, for Php 180++ but it could use a little more pressure cooking  and probably, marinating time. The buttered vegetables were likewise cold and the butter  have almost solidified to a point.  The pesto pasta was likewise huge but they probably used a little too much oil.  

We would have wanted to try the dessert but we had to run off to the coffee shop and we've to be somewhere else. Maybe next time =) 

Passing Time

So, Friday, we meet again.

I've dreaded Fridays for a while now, well, ever since I started feeling empty, longing to do something else or be somewhere else. Remember that night I almost slept in the office because I was sooo...oh emotionally unstable, as my intern calls it, then offers me vodka afterwards.

Anyway, tonight feels different. I am starting to feel that overwhelming sense of independence again. That feeling that I do not have to be with someone else, with you even (apart from kiddo, who is spending Fridays and Saturdays with the in-laws till we move--but that's another story which deserves another post altogether).

Remember I told you Friday is the saddest day of the week? Well, its beginning not be be like that anymore. Tonight, I feel like I can survive it, alone. I planned to shop away, but a looming big ticket move prevented me from doing that. So I opted for a quiet place in the middle of the busiest place in the whole of Metro Manila. Lucky me, I found two spots where I can stay in peace.

Remember when I used to be so emotionally dependent on you. But I am starting to change. I still have moments when I feel like I need to be with you--and I feel that almost everyday still, but I can handle them all now. Trying is more the operative word. But despite the independence, I feel sad still. Sad because you don't seem to care. Sad because nothing matters anymore. And sad because I feel empty. But what can I do? I need to pass time. And I suppose, in the same manner, you do too.

Bring in the Pansit and Inihaw Please..

Office mate just turned 30ish yesterday (I think he looks more 40ish! I AM KIDDING), and he treated THE OFFICE to a heavy lunch--pansit canton, pork liempo and chicken inihaw. He ordered the pansit from Starbecks (some pansiteria near Amorsolo St., Makati City) and everyone loved it. Except my friend who Becks personally delivered the pansit to, because he said he found it too salty for his taste. Becks also ordered everyone's favorite Andok's lechon manok and pork liempo! There is nothing better than free lunch and good company.

Yuuuum!

Happy Birthday Becks! Guess who becks is here? :) 

We are now officially 8 pax in the office and this is as office-y as any office can get. Its a lot more fun, more people to talk to and more interesting things to talk about. 

I mean, we wanna kill each other at times--often too much, but hey, we like each other a lot too. =)

Attack!!

Pancit Canton for 14 pax!!!

Andoks Chicken is LOVE!

Switchfoot in Manila 2011 (DELAYED POST)

So, last Saturday, the hubby and I went out--after what seemed to be a part of our past life, and watched a concert. But not just ANY concert. We watched SWITCHFOOT!

It was such an awesome, awesome night. Switchfoot did Stars, Learning to Breathe, Meant to Live PLUS Only Hope, Hello Hurricane and DARE YOU TO MOVE! 

Hay if only they can sing that closing song forever ;) 

Happiness is.. a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee!

Yesterday, the team and I, thanks to the invitation of our boss, were able to attend this  event to celebrate the awesomeness of coffee.

Dubbed as Coffee Art Exhibit, Cafe Alamid Express, in partnership with R.O.X and Victorinox, the event was an exhibit of beautifully painted pictures using coffee as paint and coffee beans for mosaic. The event featured works of eight fantastic artists: Ella Hipolito, Mike Melchor, Lito Ballaran, Brando Bati, Jerel Limayo, Kathleen Lei Limayo, Dante Palmes and Jennifer Romulo. 

The team and I were quite hoping that they will serve cafe alamid, but they opted for the regular brew. It would have made the event more interesting. Like a coffee tasting of sort :) Anyway, cafe alamid is apparently, the most expensive coffee in the world! It is basically coffee beans eaten by a local cat called alamid, fermented in the cat's digestive system and then, pooped, collected and processed. 

So how do you use coffee to paint? According to a website, you have to be steeping coffee grounds in water, so the longer it is there, the darker the paint. But compared to regular paints, using coffee can be tricky and hard because it can be sticky. 

Below are some of my favorites from the exhibit :)

yes, happiness is a cup of steaming hot coffee

don't you just love the artists' style?

coffee bean mosaic

this made me ultra happy!

Christine, Cosette, the very amicable Swiss Ambassador and Mike, the artist