Thursday, March 29, 2012

Tyrion Crashes Small Council Meeting


Out of all the new clips from various Game of Thrones season 2 episodes that HBO released today, this one is my favorite. Here, Tyrion Lannister can be seen crashing Cersei Lannister and the King's council meeting to deliver the news of a new Hand to the king. 

Naturally, Cersei did not take the news well.

Tyrion 1 Cersei - 0.

LEGO Imagine Campaign

I saw this little mind bending ad on my cartography professor's fb wall. I got intrigued, clicked on the photo not because of the score he posted along with it but simply because it was a Lego ad.

And so it began. I was supposed to tuck in early last night because of a sore throat but this little game occupied my brain, kept me insane (I purposely did that!) for 30 solid minutes before I gave up haha.

Look closely. Try to guess who/what are these. Clues at the end of this post. 











All images nicked from here

I only got 5  because hard as I try I gotta admit some of these characters were never part of my childhood, cos I'm jologs like that haha, except for the last one which is not entirely from my era at all lol. 

These images are part of Lego's new ad campaign aptly called Imagine where they recreate iconic cartoon and animation characters by using none other than Lego blocks! Brilliant right?

So, how many did you guess correctly? 



Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Yakimix Treat

After months of waiting (to which we almost gave up of ever pushing through), we finally had our much deserved treat. Thanks to the great minds behind the DYO project we won something called the President's Award, whatever that is haha.

Thank you, thank you! 

I heard some of the boys in our team had a sashimi feast that'll probably shame a Japanese in a Japanese restaurant lol. Good job, at least masulit man lang sainyo ang hindi namin magawa haha.

Photos of team/teammates

There were so many dishes to choose from but I generally steered away from the sushi section because rice will have my belly feeling full in no time so I attacked the bacon and other ready-to-grill meats. I was a bit disappointed though that their choices of bacon wrapped into anything is sooo limited. Pero okay lang, choosy pa ko?!

Their salad was surprisingly good, I drowned it in blueberry dressing just because it was something new for me. Win!

Feast buffet!

Dessert table has a wide array of choices. There were mini cheesecakes, macaroons, brownies, cupcakes, mango sago, halo-halo (which I didn't get to try), ice cream, crepe (my personal favorite!) and tiramisu (or was it mousse?). Not sure. Pastries come in tiny servings, tamang pamutat lang talaga para walang masayang di ba.

Some photos of the desserts. There were a lot more!


Again, congratulations team for the award. We so deserve this treat *insert evil laugh*!

Friday, March 23, 2012

Day Out with Freesia May

... and Fe May - a friend from previous company where I used to work but is now based in Czech Republic. The Suchý family recently arrived here in the Philippines for a 3-month long vacation. Wow! When Faye said that they'd be staying in Manila for a week (they stay mostly in Dagupan), I said to myself that I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Because of this little precious bibi!! (Sorry Faye, you come in next to her only haha). 10-month old Freesia May Dulay Suchý is oozing with cuteness that adults can't help but melt.


And those cheeks, those chubby cheeks that you just can't help but pinch!


We had a short day out with Maminka and bibi at GB area cos Faye said she haven't been there yet. Buti na lang nagpapakarga na rin si bibi samin kahit paminsan-minsa e ngumangawa pa rin haha. We had lunch at Mesa Filipino Moderne where we ordered dishes that Faye mostly misses when not here.


Juraine and I had a really fun afternoon with the two girls how I wish we could see more of them often.


But  hopefully come April I will see this pretty little munchkin again in Baguio for the first birthday party of another super adorable bibi, my inaanak Kai Mykonos!


See you soon Suchý girls!


Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Sweets Overload at Classic Confections

Thank goodness for a friend who told us that there's actually a Classic Confections branch in my beloved Kapitolyo neighborhood! At least I don't have to go all the way to Greenbelt to have a taste of their famous cake: Nono's Chocolate Oblivion =p~

We trooped in here after office hours and had an all time sugar high night.



Nono's Chocolate Oblivion

Cheesecake. Two thumbs up!

Banana Cream Pie

Colorful and interesting designs of cookies

Interior

Girlies

I like their menu!

Pastel sweets

Again, I will never have a future when it comes to writing about food. I'm terrible at finding the right words to describe the texture, the taste, everything! Haha. Basta this is masarap, that one is not. End of story!

As promised, Nono's Chocolate Oblivion is something that is totally foreign for my palate. No other chocolate cake tastes like this. But the Cheesecake stole my heart. I love how fine its texture was and how it melts easily in your tongue. Cafe Juanita's New York Cheesecake and Classic Confections' Cheesecake now holds a special chamber in my cheesecake heart. Nuks, gumaganon.

Longganisa What A Sorpresa!

After a maddening sugar intake at Classic Confections, all of us wanted something salty to wash out the sweetness in our tongues. We decided to give Longganisa Sorpresa a try but we dropped by Share Tea first  so Diane can have her Passionfruit fix first.

How apt! Soon-to-move-to-SG Diane

This was our happy faces before our order came hahaha. 

We had so much fun messing around their lovely vinegar arrangements and was actually looking forward into trying all sorts of vinegars such as Paombong, Sukang Iloko, Pinakurat, Sinamak and Tuba.


 

We got the Longganisa Platter cos from the looks of it this one will be perfect to share between the 5 of us. We can choose 5 different longganisa originating from various provinces in the country. We chose Lucban, Cebu, Cabanatuan, Vigan and Cagayan de Oro.


And so the Longganisa Platter arrived. Much to our dismay, the serving was, how do I delicately describe it, erm, tiny. Hahaha.We seriously felt we got robbed lol.

There was no problem with the longganisa that we ordered, in fact they were really delicious just not worthy of 360 pesos. I could buy a kilo of these in any grocery (to which can probably feed a family of 5 or 6?) and best of all, it wouldn't cost over 200 pesos.

Suffice to say this fella (and her friends) won't be coming back here for a second round :(

Disappointingly small serving

Monday, March 19, 2012

Despedida Dinner and One Round

So here's the promised continuation of Chip's series of despedida parties haha. Joke. Simpleng kainan at get together lang ang naganap. We went back to Brooklyn Pizza, ordered the same old goodness of pizza, pasta and buffalo wings. 

We might seem to order the same thing over and over again but trust us, that's because they're really good! Especially the white pizza. Words cannot convey how much I love Brooklyn's White Pizza.

Pasta Pomodoro

 Buffalo Wings

 The lovey doveys

 Girlies!

I love you white pizza!

We were supposed to have our drink at Citizen Pub but it was already packed with the only available table right next to noisy (probably) college kids so we went to Home Depot area to look for some pretty cozy and not too noisy place. Luckily we found this.


They decided to order 2 pitchers of Singapore Sling which tastes a lot like plastic balloon for me hahaha. I am such a boring drinker I only had a few sips of these.

Singapore Sling and Cerveza Negra

 Goofing time

I seriously will miss you Chip. So long!

We did a round of "message for Chip" which eventually wound up to more reminiscing. No room for tears, magkikita-kita pa rin naman tayo, if not now, maybe tomorrow. Ang cheesy eep.


Sunday, March 18, 2012

Despedida Lunch at RUB Ribs & BBQ

So many work-related things happened this week and everybody needs a breather so we all agreed to have our lunch at one of our favorite Kapitolyo restos, RUB Ribs & BBQ! We are such frequenters in this resto, especially my friend Ten to a point I kid her of being a stockholder already :))

Although it's already past lunch time when we got there, the place was still packed! Luckily there was an available table waiting for us so we immediately sat and ordered. We were all surprised to find that they finally replaced their old plastic menus for brand spankin' new ones.

Brand new RUB menu 

 Girlfriends

We ordered the usuals: Family Brunch with Sprice as our sides. We are hungreh!


Then we added an order of Buffalo wings...


and Onion Rings!


I mentioned in the title of this post about a Despedida. It was our beloved Chip's last day in the office, hence the Despedida lunch (and later a Despedida dinner and Despedida one rounds - but I will save this for a different post). It was definitely sad to see my oldest friend in Brady leave our company but my excitement and happiness for his new career path outweighs the sadness. All of us will surely miss the banterings, green jokes, one night rounds, food trips and behind-the-back chismis buuut we know he'll be in a better (and more financially stable haha) place so no need to be so glum about it.

We will miss you  but we'll see you in SG, Chip!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Mt. Apo: Tales From the Rooftop of the Philippines

7 months ago, I, JC and five more flew to Davao City to conquer the country's granddaddy of all boondocks: Apo. 

Rising at 2,954 masl, Mt. Apo is the highest mountain in the Philippines. It sits on 3 provinces - Davao City, Davao del Sur and Cotabato province.

Before we began the climb proper, we had a little detour first at Camp Sabros, an outdoor adventure camp located at Kapatagan, Davao del Sur. We all took turns on the zipline ride (which was awesome!) and the cable lift that we joked to never wanna leave haha. I took a video of JC and I's ride, forgive the curses and the girly shrieks hee. It was a wonderful and exciting experience, something I wouldn't dare miss.


Giant durian greeting you outside the airport; cabbages growing on a mountain slope; trees going to Camp Sabros.

From Camp Sabros, we then proceeded to Kapatagan  proper where we had our lunch. Then back on the road again which, hands down, was the BUMPIEST, HARDEST, MOST STRESSFUL ride I've ever had in my entire life (much like the road we took to Mt. Pulag via Tawangan trail but this one's worse). I probably wouldn't go back to Apo for 2 reasons: 1) for the difficulty of the actual climb and descent and 2) I don't want to go through those roads again. Literally jellied brains and body! 

I sincerely wish the local governments of Davao City, Davao del Sur and Cotabato (the 3 provinces straddling the whole mountain range) do something about those roads. The climbing fee that mountaineers shell out in order to get permission to climb, where do they go? It should be part of the mountain's maintenance and improvement fund. And hello, it is the government's responsibility to provide its people good roads with or without local attraction.

Take 5 at Camp Gudi-Gudi; out into the boulders; sulphur everywhere

We spent the first day in a small barangay on the foot of the mountains. It was so small that you can count all the houses on your two hands. I remembered sleeping at the hard floor while the rest of my fellow climbers had some drinks while waiting for our dinner to be cooked. I remembered waking up to the sound of strong rains pelting on the roof, remembered that I don't ever wanna be caught in that kind of downpour once we're up there. That would be a total nightmare.

Thankfully, the weather was the total opposite of last night during our ascent. We again offered a short prayer of guidance before we proceeded with our climb. We passed by vast acres of farm lands before reaching the forested area. We had our lunch at a water source where a small stream runs down the mountain. Then resumed our trek until we reached Camp Gudi-Gudi. Camp Gudi-Gudi is a huge mossy area where anyone who wants to break their camp or rest for an extra day before tackling the boulders can stay should they wish to do so. 

It was around 3 in the afternoon when this view greeted us. We were finally out of the forest and officially in the boulders area, exposed to all the elements. Mt. Apo is a solfataric and potentially active volcano hence the sulphur vents emitting that foul smell. Oof.


Initially the pungent smell of sulfur won't hit your nose but then as you get closer to the top, and if the winds are blowing right across your path, you will definitely smell/inhale it. And boy does it reek. But of course, we were prepared for it! Boulders was such a challenge to climb and it didn't help that we were slowly losing natural light. Everyone had to move faster lest we want to be caught in boulders come nightfall. Nope, not an option.   


Luckily we were past the boulders when total darkness came. We stopped for a while to don our headlamps before proceeding. Our guide instructed us that from here on, it'll all be pure ascent and we had to be very careful with our each step because we might not see it at the time but one wrong step could lead to a nasty fall. Everyone knows there are only two outcomes - either you make it or you don't. I shudder at the thought.


It was getting extra chilly and we were all tired from a full day of ascending that we couldn't help on pestering our guide if we were there yet haha. At past 8 in the evening, we finally reached the summit camp. I've never been happier to see our sherpas' tent (they made an advance ascent so they could prepare dinner earlier).

JC and I set up our tent in the quickest possible time so we could finally warm our cold arses off and rest our tired bodies. I was so close to skipping dinner but then realised that I was actually starving. Plus I needed all the energy food I could get inside my belly for tomorrow's descent. We had a ninja dinner before dozing off. I remember the insane cold that woke me in the middle of the night. My body/brain was too tired to care so I apparently just slid my feet inside my pack and went back to sleep. I didn't even come out to take a pee. Ha!

Morning finally came. After breaking our fast (yes I finally got to use that phrase from master storyteller George RR Martin!), we all trooped to the summit.

God was so good because He gave us a clearing to see this.



Rooftop of Pinas, yo!

From the summit, we had a clear view of Mt. Talomo's peak.

We took a short trek back to where we came from last night to catch a view of Mt. Apo's crater. Ooh!

I feasted with these plump mountain berries!

After breaking camp, we made our way down to Lake Venado where we also had our lunch. Further away from the summit, closer to civilisation. It might seem near from we stood but still it took us about 2 hours to reach the lake.


After a short rest in Venado we were back on the trail. It felt like we were in a movie. Walking on a swamp-like area and climbing down a few, not so easy 90-degree slopes (no joke!). Kahit gano ka kaingat na huwag lumubog sa putikan, lulubog at lulubog ka rin :)).



View of Lake Venado from above

After Venado, I never got a chance to take out my camera . It was getting late and we were crossing several rivers so it wouldn't really be appropriate (and wise) to waste time taking photos when lives were at risk. We had to be mindful with our each step, nobody wants to be a liability.

The last few hours were physically and mentally draining. My knees were literally folding, I was so close to giving up I had to mentally convince myself that it won't be long now, that the road will come to view and we could finally rest.

At past 9 in the evening we finally found the concrete road. Although there were really no houses, just a road that stretches out into who knows where, I've never been so relieved to see the highway. It was pitch dark yet I can clearly remember a sky dotted with too many stars it's unbelievable. After 30 more minutes of walking, we finally got to our "resort hotel" na fully booked naman so tent pa rin ang bagsak namin haha. I've never been happier to see a television, working electricity, sari sari store, people in general. Never been happier to kick my shoes off and lay my feet on a makeshift rest chair. I offered a silent prayer of thanks that we didn't have unfortunate events throughout the process, that everyone made it to Lake Agko safely. I made it to and out of Apo safely. Now that's an achievement.

Kidapawan sidetrip on our way back to Davao City.