Unabashedly Italian…

As the Italian-inspired oldies music softly played in the background, I sat and wait for my best friend to make his appearance. I had asked him, earlier that day, to have lunch with me at this newly-opened Italian restaurant called Volare, which I recently discovered came across inside Robinson’s Place. Much to my surprise though, he’s already beaten me to it (tsk tsk!), having sampled the joint’s fare not once, but twice in last few weeks.

Not long after he came in and took his seat, we went through the menu and decided to just go for the obvious, Pasta and Pizza. Oh well, it is an Italian restaurant, isn’t it?

It was already way past noon and the place that was empty less than an hour ago was just starting to fill up. Pretty slow for a weekend, I thought, and wondered whether I’m in for a good, hearty lunch, or a trip down disappointment lane.

And disappointed I was NOT.

If you’re one of those who enjoy classic Italian fare but is unwilling to fork out big bucks for a measly serving of pasta, then this place would be perfect for you.

With a regular serving that’s enough for two (although I have to admit, I can finish the whole thing easy) and not too stingy on the ingredients, Volare offers both heft and taste that should be enough to satisfy even the most discriminating of foodies among us. What’s more, you (or your date) won’t have to burn a sizable hole in your pocket to experience a slice of continental gastronomy.

“Honorable” hoods…

In a country where the line between politics and hooliganism is as blurry as the Manila skyline on a smoggy day, the revelation by the PNP about politicians being involved in criminal activities is hardly a surprise at all. Heck, it’s not even news anymore as people know that some officials are themselves linked, directly or indirectly, to such nefarious activities like illegal gambling, smuggling, illegal logging, etc. etc.

Yep, name anything illegal, they all have it.

But if the top cop thinks that this exonerates the police, well, he better think again. I find it hard to believe that the Pangasinan town’s chief of police doesn’t have a clue that a robbery syndicate is using his town as a safe haven.

It’s just the conspiracy theorist in me talking here, but high-powered weapons like the ones that were used in the bank heists aren’t exactly gun shop fare. You can’t just buy an M-16 assault rifle over the counter, especially ones with grenade launchers, unless you have complete and unhindered access to them. And guess who has the keys to the arsenal?

Either he’s playing stupid, or just plain stupid…

Also harder to swallow is that Pangasinan mayor’s claim that he had no idea that the wounded man brought to him years ago was the infamous — and the now very dead — Alvin Flores, and that he was merely being a good Samaritan.

Oh really? If doctors and hospitals are required to report gunshot related wounds to the police, what more an elected public official? If he really is as clueless as he claims to be then, he has no frigging  business being mayor.

This kinda reminds me of that mayor who swore he had no knowledge of the existence of a thriving drug tiangge in his turf, even though it was located within spitting distance from the city hall.

The sad fact is, even with a ton of evidence linking them to criminal activities, not a single one of these “honorable” hoods will ever see the insides of a jail. I doubt if the police will even consider filing charges against the Pangasinan mayor, the worse thing that could happen to him is that he — or members of his family — get re-elected to office.

Ay, we are so screwed up…

The incredible shrinking chicken

The sight and the aroma of fowls slowly roasting on the rotisserie was all but enough to lure me inside a Kenny Rogers Roasters outlet, last Monday.

I was famished, and I wanted more than the usual one or two-piece chicken they serve at Colonel Sander’s place (in case you’re wondering, that’s KFC). No way, I thought, I need more than a leg and a wing to whet my man-sized appetite.

After checking out the picture of a juicy-looking chicken and its hefty sidings at the brightly lighted menu board, I promptly chose the Super Solo.

Anything that has the word “Super” attached to it, food especially, should be good, right?

My expectations were soon dashed, however, when the food attendant brought me this pitiful-looking piece…

Yup, that was supposed to be a quarter serving of chicken. Quite a far cry from the splashy presentation on the menu board. I guess the attendant on the counter forgot to tell me they were serving spring chickens that day.

Is it just me? or are the servings in our fastfood joints getting smaller and smaller? I know there’s a recession going on but dang… did they have to downsize the frigging servings as well?

Man, I miss those days when super really meant, well… SUPER.

The Jet in my pocket

With nowhere to go and nothing else to do but mope, while typhoon “Santi” huffs and puffs, I thought it would be a good time to get intimate my new toy…

That’s right folks, after two years of service I finally ditched my ever reliable Nokia N-95 and went, err… “touchy”, with Samsung Jet, the Korean electronic giant’s latest addition to the touch-screen war currently raging among cellphone manufacturers.

I was initially set on getting an LG Arena, but Samsung’s rival seem bent on pricing their touch-screen mobiles way beyond the means of ordinary working stiffs like moi. I did consider getting an iPhone, but again, there is the price to consider. Also, the imaging quality sucks for such an expensive camera phone.

Feature-wise, the slim and sexy Jet can compete head to head with the other touch-phones in the market, but at a price that can be considered as reasonable.

It has all the essentials a glorified messenger/blogger-on-the-go need for everyday use. Crammed with geeky goodies like a dazzling 3.1 inch touch-sensitive screen, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, a 5MP auto focus shooter, built-in accelerometer or auto rotate for wide screen viewing and, if your network supports it… GPS capability.

All those, as well as some other neat stuff, are powered by an 800Mhz processor and neatly packed inside a plastic case that is less than half an inch thick. Now that’s what I call pocket-friendly.

I know, some of you may ask, “aren’t on-screen keypads difficult to use?” Well, for someone who was used to using regular keypads on his cellphone, I was a bit apprehensive at first, but was later surprised at the ease I was able to adapt.

It’s a bit slower, but then I do type slow even on regular keypads. Besides, there’s always the QWERTY keypad for those long messages.

Been using it for a couple of weeks now but it was only yesterday, while hunkered down inside the house waiting for “Santi” to pass, when I decided to test the phone’s imaging capabilities, as well as the nifty features that, before, are found only on dedicated point and shoot digicams.

But the one cool thing that I liked best in this phone’s shooter is the panoramic shot feature. My old Canon digicam has one, but it was a tad too complicated for my simple brain to master.

The one found in Samsung’s camphone, however, is a no-brainer as its computer (it may not have occured to you but yes, current cellphones ARE computers with processing powers greater than the early desktops) and viewfinder will do the work, as well as the stitching for you.

No need to go through the tiny prints on the handbook on this one, as I managed to learn how to use it within a few seconds. Here are some samples that I took at the height of typhoon “Santi”…

Pardon the less-than-admirable quality of the image. “Santi” was wreaking havoc at the time so the lighting kinda sucked. Anyway, about the picture… I guess not even the hundred-plus kilometer wind from a raging typhoon was enough to uproot those vendors.

Here’s an even wider shot (3 frames) of my bedroom, taken a few minutes later…

If you must ask… yes, those are my feet.

Finally, there’s the two added features, which weren’t available on my N-95, that I find cool and really useful. First is the Caller Reject List that will enable me to block out all unwanted calls, especially from those call and text mate wannabes who can’t seem to find a better use for their cellphones.

The second — which comes in handy during awkward situations — is the Fake Call feature wherein you can, at the press of a button, receive a fake call from an imaginary caller (you just have to record a voice to make it sound like a real call is in progress). With this, you won’t need to think up of lame excuses to pry yourself away from those boring meetings and conversations with obnoxious persons.

Cool, huh?

And now a word from man’s best friend

For those of you who are planning on getting a dog, or already have one, please take a few minutes to watch this video, which was voted number one in a recently held contest, sponsored by You Tube and The American Humane Society, to promote awareness for animal rights.

Indeed think carefully before you decide on keeping one. Unlike birds or fish, or even cats, a dog requires full time attention and responsibility from its owners — not to mention, a lot of hard work and the patience of a Buddhist monk.

Sure, that bright eyed puppy is so cute you just want to take it home with you and hug it to death. But remember, that little fur ball of cuteness will soon grow to become a handful as months go by. This is especially true for the larger breeds such as German Shepherds, Rottweilers and Retrievers.

Please, don’t be one of those idiots who keep them for the wrong reasons, or because it is just so cool to have one. These are living, breathing creatures that have the same range of emotions as humans do. A loyal friend to the end, they have an infinite capacity to love unconditionally, unlike most humans.

So think twice, or better yet… think ten times before you take one home with you.

Talking trash…

So typical of Filipinos to have such short memory, not only in politics but towards calamities as well.

A month has already passed since the great flood swept into Metro Manila, and everything is back to normal again.

And by “normal”, I mean this…

I wonder, what will it take for people to learn the lessons from the flood of September 26? A flood of biblical proportion?

Perhaps that is what we need to finally hammer into the thick skulls of these nitwits that rivers aren’t garbage dumps. And that whatever crap we throw into the river will one day come back and bite us in the ass.

And speaking of floods…

“I was also a flood victim, I was convicted based on a flood of lies unleashed by the elite and those who are hungry for power.” – Joseph Estrada

Man, this is one guy who, in spite of the obvious, is still in a state of denial.

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“This is the last performance of my life and I will not fail you,” thus claims ex-con, err… ex-president, Joseph Estrada, amidst a cheering crowd last Wednesday, when he formally announced his intention to run in the next presidential election.

Man, this guy really is a ham of an actor to the end, isn’t he? and he just HAD to deliver that corny one-liner in our neck of the woods, of all places, to symbolize his affinity for the poor and the downtrodden.

Well said for someone who’s used to gambling away millions of pesos while downing bottles of Johnny Walker Blue, and keeping mistresses left and right.

If you ask me, that promise sounds more like a badly written line in one his mediocre movies, which, unfortunately, the gullible masa laps up with gusto.

Furthermore, he claims it is his “mission” to deliver this country from “poverty and culture of corruption” under madam Gloria.

Oh so now the fat guy thinks he’s the country’s long-awaited messiah. But then, so does the other candidates…

The only difference between him and the other president-wannabes is that this returning “messiah’s” disciples includes, among others, an overstaying mayor who thinks he’s the Pinoy equivalent of Barack Obama, an Erap clone and heir-apparent with a lackluster record as a senator, an aging curmudgeon from the Marcos era, a governor from the north whose family name still evokes dark memories of the martial law years (as well as shoe fetish), a disgruntled whistle-blower with an ax to grind, and a detained coup plotter who has yet to face the music.

Now that’s what I call a collection of who’s who. Looking at the line up, I wonder how this would-be savior will be able to deliver his promise…

Know what? if there ever is a time when Filipinos should wake up from their stupor, it is NOW. Because no other period in our history is as critical as the present — not when our very survival depends on who we choose to lead us out of this political quagmire that we have knowingly put ourselves into.

But, judging from the available choices — which are mediocre, to say the least — and the sizable crowds that blindly follow Erap and his posses wherever he goes, that would be a tough call.

Parking lot woes

I’m a considerate person when it comes to parking etiquette. I make sure to park properly and at a safe distance. I do this, not only to make enough room for others to park, but to save my car from getting those unwanted dings and scratches from careless drivers who couldn’t care less about other people’s property.

Unfortunately, all the precautions in the world is not enough to protect my car from that idiot who did this…

Several days have passed since I discovered that ugly gash on my front bumper… and it is still pissing the hell out of me.

It isn’t just the all too obvious damage on my car that’s been raising my blood pressure. And neither is it about the money that I will have to shell out for the repair. It’s the not-knowing-who-did-it part that had me hopping mad.

One thing I’m sure of is that the stupid jerk could be any one of the three dozen or so car owners who park in the same building.

I could check each and every one of the cars in the building for that telltale sign but the sad fact is, it’ll take more than an amateurish detective work to find the A-hole who did it. Looking for the perp would require too much guess work, as not a few of the vehicles in the three-level parking garage sport similar bruises on their bumpers, which they could have gotten somewhere else.

The security guards weren’t much of a help either, as it happened (I’m assuming here) in between their nighttime rounds of the garage.

“dapat naka-on yung alarm mo para kung tumunog mapuntahan agad namin, at malaman kung sino ang bumangga” (you should activate your car alarm so if anything like this happens we would instantly be alerted), suggested the head guard after filing my complaint.

Note: I always switch off my car’s security alarm whenever I park in the building so as to avoid draining the battery.

Yeah, maybe I should have. But still… dang!

Really, some idiots don’t deserve to own a car — much less be given a license to drive one — especially if they can’t even park without hitting another car.

Arrgh!

Swan song…

I cannot even recall when I last heard it play anywhere, but after hearing the first few notes come out of the store’s unseen loudspeakers, everything about that song came rushing back instantly…

Since then, it refused to leave, seemingly forever stuck in my brain like it was permanently set on loop.

And the culprit? a fourteen year-old song called “Con Te Partiro“, or better known as “Time To say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli and the still hot as ever, Sarah Brightman.

So okay, I have a slight case of what is known as LSS, or last song syndrome at the moment. But I’m not complaining. Because as much as I hate repeating things over and over, I would never tire (for now at least) of humming this haunting melody as I go through my daily grind.

Heck, I’d probably request this song to be played on my own funeral…

Time to say goodbye
Paesi che non ho mai
Veduto e vissuto con te
Adesso si li vivro.
Con te partiro
Su navi per mari
Che io lo so
No no non esistono piu
Its time to say goodbye.

Oh, here’s an idea: I think this would be the perfect farewell music for humankind come December 21, 2012 — the day the ancient Mayans predicted as the beginning of the end.

I would even dare suggest that, on “doomsdate” (heh, I just made that up), Bocelli and Ms Brightman sing it live on stage, backed by the London Symphony Orchestra and complimented by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. You know, the full works? Then end the farewell performance with a massive fireworks display.

At least in this way, Mankind will not go out with a whimper, but with defiance. And like that rousing finale at the end of the song… on a high note.

Weekend meme…

It’s been a long while since I answered a tag from a fellow blogger. Got tagged several times in the past few months but I have never gotten around to doing them.

Sorry guys, my bad.

Anyways, since it’s a weekend, and my brain is in lazy mode this morning, I thought It’ll be  good time to show my snarky self, by answering the following questions from my friend, Gypsy.

Honestly, though, I have been tagged with a similar Q&A meme before… several times in fact. This meme it seems, have been around the digital block for quite some time, and have been passed along from one blogger to another since this whole meme thing started.

Okay, enough of the preliminaries and on with the meme:

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth?

While answering this tag? a bowlful of oatmeal for breakfast.

2. Where was your profile picture taken?

I have no profile picture right now as I prefer to be, err… anonymous,. But hey, that avatar in my profile is a “Simpsonized” image of myself.

3. Can you play the guitar?

It’s been decades since I last plucked and strummed on a guitar. But with some practice, I think I can still hack it…

4. Name someone who made you laugh today?

At 7 am??…

5. How late did you stay up last night and why?

Went to bed at 11pm after catching an episode of “The Family Guy” on FX TV.

6. If you could move somewhere else, would you?

In a heartbeat. For the longest time, I’ve been wanting to say adios to this dump but have never gotten the chance… yet.

7. Ever been kissed under fireworks?

What? And miss all that colorful pyrotechnic show?

8. Which of your friends lives closest to you on Facebook?

None. Either they live on the other side of town or half a world away…

9. Do you believe ex’s can be friends?

If you’ve been reading this blog for some time, you’ll know my answer to that.

10. How do you feel about Dr Pepper?

It’s okay. Too bad it’s not as widely available in these islands...

11. When was the last time you cried?

Can’t remember… it was THAT looong ago.

12. Who took your profile picture

Err… Homer Simpson?

13. Who was the last person you took a picture of?

Not a person, but a warning sign posted on one of the MRT columns along EDSA which I have yet to post…

14. Was yesterday better than today?

It was, because we both smiled at each other…

15. Can you live a day without TV?

Not unless my favorite show is on…

16. Are you upset about anything?

Oh I am upset about a lot of things… my life in particular.

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?

Depends on who you are having a relationship with…

18. Are you a bad influence?

Do you actually think anyone in their right mind would admit to that?

19. Night out or night in?

Depends on the company…

20. What item(s) could you not go without during the day?

My wallet of course. And oh, the cellphone too…

22. What does the last text message in your inbox say?

“Honey, I’m waiting for you” Nah, just kidding… it was a message from a client informing me of the time and date of the meeting.

23. How do you feel about your life right now?

It sucks, period!

24. Do you hate anyone?

Let me put it this way, if I were to list down all the people I hate there wouldn’t be enough space in this blog

25. If we were to look in your Email inbox, what would we find most?

Spam… and more spam. Oh and you can add those love letters from the Nigerian scammers as well…

26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?

In flying colors…

27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before?

Hmm, not even my Mom would dare call me perfect…

28. What song is stuck in your head?

“Nobody” (or is it Nobody But You?), and it’s no thanks to those frigging DVD vendors outside our building who keep playing that damn Korean pop song over and over and over…

29. Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be?

I live on the fourth floor, and I doubt it if anyone would be stupid enough to climb all the way up here just to knock on my window… unless he’s a burglar.

30. Wanna have grandkids before you’re 50?

Even if I do, it’ll be a miracle since I’m two years shy of the half-century mark…

31. Name something you have to do tomorrow:

It’s a weekend, so anything can happen…

32. Do you think too much or too little?

Too much, I’m afraid…

33. Do you smile a lot?

Only when she’s near…

I am supposed to pass this meme around but then again, nah! The buck stops here.

Have a great weekend everyone!