In one of our spontaneous food trips, we decided to go to Lilac St. in Marikina. I am honestly a first-timer so I tried to cram for the some of the hyped places in Lilac over the Internet. I was eyeing for the restaurant Some Kind of Wonderful (S.K.O.W.), but as we have gone far at one end of the strip, we just decided to wing it and eat somewhere else.

We walked back from where we began and went straight a couple more blocks, my best friend is just so certain that I would like what he had in mind and he did not disappoint!

Brad and Pit’s Ribshack! I actually came across a lot of good reviews about the place when I browsed over the web.

Naranasan mo na bang umupo at makipagkwentuhan sa iyong mga kaibigan sa gitna ng kalsada? Yung kahit alas dos na ng madaling araw ay parang hindi ka mauubusan ng boses at gustong sabihin. Naranasan mo na bang mag-videoke with birit hanggang hating gabi? Eh, ang mag-trekking sa isang unknown hill na walang trail? Yung tipong hindi mo alam kung nakailang “Tabi-tabi po” ka na.

*cue in "Minsan" by Eraserheads*

I just want to share one of the trips that I took recently. We were invited by a friend to come and visit Bataan as they will be celebrating a festival. I must say, I spent there one of the best weekends of my life. Aside from relishing the delicious homemade cuisine, the company of dear and kind locals and the “old town” feels, we were also driven by the humid weather to visit a nearby resort called Punta Belle.

Hi guys!

I know that I haven't posted any movie suggestions for a while, but here it goes. For this one, I chose movies that are oldies, but goodies. These are films produced around the '80s.  Don't you just love movies from the '80s? Because I do!

They are not classics, but you just gotta love these ones! I must warn you though; they all feature Andrew McCarthy, because...I love him! Well, who doesn't? The guy is plain handsome, specially during his 20s. He still is actually.

SEE??? He was really famous during the '80s, because of his boy-next-door looks.

Now, let's go down to business.


1) Mannequin (1987)

It's a romantic comedy fantasy film, which stars Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall as the two lead. Kim is  a mannequin that comes to life, only in the presence of Andew. Jonathan Switcher, McCarthy's character, on the other hand is an artist-wannabe, who got hired as a department store window dresser. Together, they are unstoppable. Working and playing inside a mall, these two do know how to have fun!

Kim Casttrall was astoundingly beautiful in this film. I also love the main song of the film, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship. It really suits the story of the movie.

2) Pretty In Pink (1986)

I love this film. It is about two teenagers, Andie and Blane, coming together despite their difference in social class, peers, and preferences. The ending sucks though. For one, Andrew McCarthy was wearing a wig during the prom scenes, because he was already shooting another film at the time. Second, his character, Blane, got off easy with Andie. She should have made him beg, even suffer. Well, maybe suffering is too harsh. I guess the two of them getting together in the end would have made more sense if it was shown that Blane exerted a lot of effort to make it up to Andie.








I found a lot of truth in the movie, with regards to stereotypes, social class, and friendships in high school. This is a must-watch indeed.

3) Weekend at Bernie's (1989)



This film is one of my favorites! This may sound shallow to some, but this is a movie that gets me through some sad and tough times. I just can't resist laughing whenever I watch it. Bernie is indeed the funniest and most interactive corpse for me. This film has a sequel, but please no longer bother for it. It's no match for the first one, I can assure you.




The film follows the story of two young employees, who found fraud committed in their company. Invited by their boss to spend the weekend with him, the two went on an adventure, only to find their boss dead inside his rest house. Watch how these two guys convince people that Bernie is still alive. It will knock you out of your seat!

Note: I do not own any of the photos above. I got them all from Google.

I remember a year ago, I was cramming an editorial about Jesse Robredo. I didn’t know who he was, or what all the grieving was about. I was not even following the news regarding the crash to the recovery of his body, until I actually had to write about it. In my prayers, may be yes, he was mentioned once. What makes this person, so important to so many people – I had no idea.

In order to write the editorial, I had to read about various articles/writings about him. I learned that he won a Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service. He acquired a degree in Industrial Management Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from De La Salle University and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of the Philippines, and graduated from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government with a Masters of Public Administration degree. These things about him though, I got from Wikipedia, because most articles written about him, from those who know him personally or not, commends and talks of not his achievements, but him and his service.

Truth be told, I have no awesome or epic leadership story. I am a student and a volunteer, which I am both proud to be. I am not the great president or leader, who saved everybody’s neck by taking the blame. I am not the noble leader, who does all the work either. The thing about having Jesse Robredo as my example is that I get to do all my obligations or responsibilities and tasks, while applying his principles. I learned to do my everyday thing extraordinarily, with excellence and conscience.

I have always admired how he incorporated the suggestions and concerns of members of the community in his projects and decisions. This pushed citizens of Naga to be active, not only in the planning, but also upon implementation of policies and developments. I realized that despite my good intentions and plans for my group, I will not succeed without everyone’s thoughts, support, and cooperation. I learned to not only ask, “What do you think of my idea?” but also, “What are your ideas?” I came to see that leadership does not revolve around being in control and superiority. I learned from him that a few good words can go a long way. It lifts people to their feet; it moves us.

In spite of all the success, all the praise, and all the awards, Jesse Robredo always go back to his roots and to his loved ones. I know that as much as many Filipinos admired him, to his family, he was also their biggest hero. In his own way, he depicted how everything starts at home. He showed me that for the time and effort we spend helping other people, we must never forget to attend first to our family and loved ones, without neglecting our oaths, principles, and responsibilities.

Whenever I hear ‘Tsinelas leadership’, a picture pops into my mind: Jesse Robredo sweeping the streets of Naga after a typhoon. He could have formed and managed a task force for the clean-up, but he did not. I realized then that if I want something achieved, I have to do it, but I don’t have to do it alone. I see his pictures – a picture of a great frontrunner, but I see him surrounded by people. It pushed me to take action whenever the time and situation calls for it.

The thing about him is that he brought back the real essence of public service. If one opts for climbing the social or career ladder or high salary, then this is definitely not the way to go, because this kind of service requires genuine will and effort to serve other people. As I have seen with the home of the Robredos’, doing public service may not bring about a new or a bigger house, but it brings good company, good people around.

I never thought how a person, who I have only met after he has been gone, will bring about positive or any change to me at all. I know that he may not be perfect, but I know that he tried to do right. He showed me way on how to lead a fulfilling life. From him, I realized that public service is not bounded by material things, credits, and intention. It is a way of life by which we should live in. Given that we are brought in this world to live alongside other people by whatever force or reason that we believe in, I guess that is already a hint. In a way, Jesse started a blaze, because I know that whatever traits I got from him, they are being mirrored by those people, whose lives I have touched.

This is a photo of me and Rep. Leni Robredo, wife of the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.

I have fallen in love so many times, through the story of many heroes and heroines, who have fallen trapped to the powers of Cupid. Still, I have never felt anything close to the heated passion that I have felt while reading Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate.

The story opens to the narration of the birth and coming of age of Tita, the youngest daughter of the all-female De La Garza family. Due to the Mexican tradition of the youngest daughter having the duties to care for her mother until the day she dies, she was robbed of her rights to marry; hence the story of her tragic love affair with Pedro, who decided to marry her sister, in order to stay close to Tita. With the many years that they lived together under one roof come the amount of pain and temptation from these two lead characters.

The chapters of the book was divided into months, in each comes a delicious recipe, with an even more tasteful backstory to relish. I may not be a big fan of cooking, but the description of Esquivel of how scrumptious food affect people, certainly inspires me. The recipes themselves are not as easy, having most of their ingredients based on Mexican delicacies and produce. Preparations of many home remedies, from solution to foul breath to curing burns, may be found inside the book. Although I must say that the instructions of the recipes and remedies seem stiff that they don't blend in with the story. It's like a recipe pasted in the middle of a story.

I would like to commend the set of characters. It was impossible not to love Tita. I don’t know if it was her described skill in cooking or her humane imperfections, but she did make a perfect heroine. Although there was minimal description of the physical features of the characters, I ended up thinking of Pedro as a handsome man. Mama Elena, Tita’s mother, sent chills down my spine, whenever she was mentioned. She was the perfect picture of a woman with a whip. I also noticed how all the characters seemed to represent different kinds of people from different walks in life, each with their own burdens and responsibilities.

The book itself is a remedy. Satirical, it shows how people condemned one another to conform to society and tradition, and how those with courage, breaks off from these chains that bound genuine happiness. There was a part where Tita’s sister Rosauro, who married the Pedro, allowed Pedro and Tita to have an affair, given that it was discreet as to not give her marriage and family a bad image. It goes to show how people resort to deception and denial when the matters of honor and image are concerned. It also showed a reality between the different relationships of people with their family members. The characters were portrayed to be the turning point from a traditional family and its Mexican customs to adapting to the concept of democracy. It showed how these women stayed up and kicking, until the last blow of life.

There was a sense of familiarity with every dish prepared and served by Tita. It felt like a tradition, having to stand in her kitchen and listen to her stories, even only by flipping through the pages of the book. I think that I have grown up with Tita in that kitchen, under the vigilant and glaring eyes of Mama Elena. At night, I find comfort that Tita would always have the comfort and love of Nacha, the house cook. The recipes did not only make the book more interesting, but it gave the feeling of actually reading Tita De La Garza’s journal, in spite of it being a work of fiction. Also, the dishes mentioned help refresh and signify certain scenes or parts of the story – like how the famous Christmas rolls seem to bring to life the carefree childhood of Tita, learning how to cook in the kitchen with Nacha.

There is one particular part that seemed to have stuck with me. It was when John Brown, the family doctor of the De La Garza family, was explaining to Tita how to make a match stick. He said that like the phosphorous, there is something inside everyone of us that can ignite a fire, but not everyone has found or know what will start the spark. In the book, this was related as to tell of Tita’s lack of interest to live and to communicate to people (due to some happenings prior to that conviction). It gives hope, yet also imposes fear; there is the lingering horror of not ever finding that spark.

I like how the author incorporated magical realism, which I found both witty and humorous at times. I would have loved to see Mama Elena haunting the farm and Nacha evaporating to thin air only to let alone Tita and Pedro for the very last time. Some descriptions and narrations may also be found exaggerated, but most of them refer to a deeper meaning and add humor to the story. The surreal scenes though may cause confusion to some readers.

I must warn people though that this book is not for everyone. There are certain parts of the book, which pertains to intimate moments between some of the characters. These sensitive parts though were narrated in a discreet manner. Some actions and decisions of the characters are still beyond the comprehension of minors though.

I don’t think that I have ever read a book as exquisite as this one. I cannot discern which is which, but some part of me was buried within the story and as for the other part, I felt like I consumed the story as how I would eat my most favorite dish, slowly as to savor and taste every spice, twist, and flavor. It taught me patience and timing, as Tita had said about cooking. I moved my way deep into the story, burying myself into the burdens, desires, and emotions of the characters. It takes a certain level of maturity to fully understand the concept and situations in the story.

As illustrated in the book, love is hard. Like a dark chocolate, it is bitter and sweet. It cannot or may be not reciprocated, and that is the fear that haunted me as a reader until the end of the book. Esquivel’s novel did and will certainly raise a lot of eyebrows, but in its queerness and mystique, I have to say that it was beautiful. Like Water for Chocolate filled not gaps, but the cravings of my soul.