A Taste of Chicken ala Carte

Chicken ala Carte presented a glimpse of the life of hunger- and poverty-stricken Filipinos in the face of globalization. It focused on the portion of society that was forsaken of the luxuries of life. It was based on the real life stories of thousands of Filipinos, especially those who are urban poor.

This independent short film was awarded as the Most Popular Short Film under the theme "Food, Taste and Hunger" during the 56th Berlin International Film Festival. The film was written, photographed and directed by Ferdinand Dimadura. He also composed, arranged and performed the original music in it.

I wanna come home

I am freaking excited for the weekend! You know why? It is the long weekend of the year and I am going home with my sister. Aklan, here we come!
 
And since I am freaking excited about it, I keep singing songs with "home" in the lyrics.
 
Here's one by Michael Buble

Post-Birthday

Does it really take two days to rest after an exhausting half-day meeting with best friends?

Yes, it does. My body is still so tired but my mind keeps on bugging me to write about Saturday's events. It's as if my mind would explode if another minute flies off without a word said about it. And body aches and pains do not really matter because I enjoyed every minute that Met-Met, Diana and I were together last Saturday. (Though I really wish I can get another day without classes so I can just tuck myself into bed.)

As a post-celebration for my two best friends' birthdays, we invited our high school classmates and new college friends to meet and eat in SM Megamall last week. All of them RSVP-ed they could not make it and it made me feel bad. We have prepared ourselves, and our wallets, to accommodate several people in a special restaurant only to be put down. On the bright side, we were so lucky that we did not have to spend more to treat other people. We are only obliged to treat ourselves. Now that's what I call a good time.

Cheers to Raj

I make it a point to recognize friends who still have time to write outside of academic requirements. They continue to amaze me, especially as they juggle academics (which by itself is already difficult), organizations, family and friends.

Three months ago, I congratulated a certain high school batch-mate for having her essay published in a national newspaper (Philippine Star). She won in the paper's writing contest so her article got printed.


As I read through some news feeds in Facebook yesterday, I was amazed to find out that another batch-mate did the same feat.

Supposedly

She is supposed to be my batch-mate in UP. She is supposed to be studying right now, like us, for a college degree. And maybe she is supposed to be in one of my classes. I'm not sure. For all I know, she is not supposed to be carrying the burden of a baby in her womb yet.

I suppressed a gasp upon hearing this from her mother. I continued to eat the hotdog sandwich I just bought from their food stall. Her mother was talking to a friend, and, yeah, I have been eavesdropping. I am sorry for myself for having bad manners, but I am more sorry for this girl who is about my age and already practiced procreation as recreation.

Welcome, August

August is a month of celebrations and I can't wait to par-teh!

My best friends and I have been planning to celebrate a triple birthday bash for ourselves. I have not planned anything yet, but I think they already have everything ironed out. One of my best friends is so excited that she's counting down the days to when we will meet. I can't wait to see them again, after almost five months.

Also, I, with my high school classmates, celebrated my high school classmate's birthday today (redundant, no?) in KFC in Katipunan. Afterwards, we went in and around Ateneo de Manila University, thanks to our former schoolmates who are now studying there.

Photo ops after eating at KFC.

Con-si-der

When you really want to sleep early, but your dorm won't let you because it is Friday night, what do you do?

I twist and turn in bed. Somehow, it was still relatively quiet. After a while, the talking turns to shouting, the chuckles turn to boisterous laughing and the music keeps on growing louder and louder.

I try to keep my eyes closed, my body relaxed and my mind free from curses. And the shouts, the laughter and the music just keep on going. And questions race about my mind. Isn't it night time already? Isn't it time for people like themselves to sleep? Don't they consider other people who really really really want to sleep so badly? The other people who had not sleep before midnight for several nights and the only chance she'll be having is on Friday night?

Overheard

A little boy passed by me at McDonald's and was muttering under his breath what seemed to be curses. Walking next to him was his mother. She ushered her little boy to a vacant seat.

"What's wrong, dear?" the mother asked once they were seated. He just groaned.

"Are you mad at me?" the mother asked without a hint of anger in her tone and gave him a smile. That soothing kind of smile that shows 100% maternal love.

College Life Month-sary

I am celebrating my first month as a college student in the University of the Philippines today. I am proud to say that I have learned a lot in a month’s time. Therefore, I will have a very long list of topics to study for the final exams of each subject by the end of the semester. But I won’t be dealing with the pressures of the acads right now, though I know a lot of people who will relate.

What I really want to do is to share my thoughts about the people who stay in front of the classroom and talk about anything under the sun with conviction and you just can't stop yourself from listening.

Since I am a Chem-major student, I am supposed to enjoy my Chemistry class, right? Quite frankly, I am. And that's without the bias of my major.

"Itlog Pugo"

I have always been fond of eating itlog pugo or quail eggs. Every time my mom and I chance upon a vendor, we always buy a pack. Once at home, I would effortlessly crack the eggs and pop them one by one into my mouth. Well, I often share the itlog pugo with my brother because he would be so annoying around me. The only way to stop him would be giving him a piece or two of what I’m eating.

Ever since God-knows-when, I have eaten quail eggs but have not asked if it is good for me. Or how can I make them tastier? Or where do the vendors get their supply of eggs? Or how can the mommy quails survive without their children? It never occurred to me that one day I will be looking for the answers to these questions.

When my adventure in Research began last year, I wandered mostly on topics on herbal medicines. They were the most common things in the Philippines, yet only little to no scientific proof of their power is known. In my proposal’s early stage, I have been pretty excited just thinking about what I would actually discover from these folkloric remedies.