meal, me, and more

It's been more than three months since I started taking Facebook "seriously", though my account has been active for more than two years already. I must say I love it! It connects me to the world, plus, it gives me some time (or force me to have time) to smile in front of my laptop screen amidst the windows of piling class requirements. OK... I posted my "virtual cafe" in FB last October. A first, it's just a recreation, but now, it has somehow become an addiction. Actually, mine is nothing compared to my cafe world neighbors. But hey, I have kids, husband, house, school, and a life to look after. Look at how my cafe grew out of few minutes snatched from my papers =) Sorry I had to zoom the screen out because, due to expansions, the land area won't fit into the screen anymore. Parang totoo. Hehe...

We can do something, if we act now. After my report on "Climate Change and Globalization", our class came up with individual advocacies to fight the frightening climate change. As much as I want to summarize my report, which took me three hours to present, I have time and space constraints, and so I will just enumerate our answers for the said activity. Mine: Addressing climate change requires social energy and networking among institutions and players around the globe to act within an interconnected system of parts where each one has a vital role to play, each voice is right, every right is represented. For Fleureeza Marie A. Liwanag: Promote 3Rs (Reduce, Re-use, Recycle) Plus an additional "R" for Refuse to using anything that may contribute to more wastes (like plastic bags. For Kat Cordova: Plant a tree. Recycle - avoid using plastics, reuse paperbags. On policies, the government must strictly implement the Clean Air Act. Smoke belchers should be punished, comp...

This is an adaptation of a not-so-old Knorr Real Sarap (a seasoning) recipe presented in one of its advertisements, with Claudine Barreto as the endorser-cook. It's presented as a "pulutan" dish, but I must say it's also a good viand for those who love spicy taste to top their rice. Ingredients: 1/2 kg chicken breast fillet, cut into small strips 1/4 cup Knorr or Maggi original seasoning 1 small pack Knorr Real Sarap 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce salt pepper 1 tbsp butter 3 cloves garlic, chopped chopped chilis (red and green) mixed veggies (as garnish) Directions: Marinate chicken in the first five ingredients for at least 1 hour. In a pan, sautee garlic in butter. Sautee chicken (without the marinade) until it changes in color. Add mixed veggies until cooked. Pour the marinade and let the sauce thickens. When almost done, put the chilis. Remove from heat when the sauce evaporates.

I admit I'm a certified choco-chip addict. Be it a cookie, ice cream, donut... name it! I simply love chocolate. However, I discovered choco-chip flavored pancake won't do it for me. I loathed the Chocolate Chip Pancake served to us at Pancake House in Trinoma. I love Pancake House's waffles and classic pancakes. It's only this time that I tried other variants of their pancakes, and there... found it not so satisfying. The pancakes weren't light and fine, perhaps because of the melting chocolate chips that penetrated the each layer. Not in a good way, though. They didn't look appealing, too. After about an hour, I was only able to finish half of what was served. I loved the peanut butter scoop on the side, though.

Although I don't get to talk intimately with hubby's business partners (especially the foreigners), I'm touched everytime they remember the family with pasalubongs. The Germans and the Japanese are the most thoughtful based on hubby's engagements but the Chinese, of course, will not drop out my list. Last week, Umezawa sensei visited the project site here. Since the financial "transactions" with hubby's group are done, he just bought some sweets for the team. Actually, only Doc Berns, hubby, and the plant owner received the token. The goodies' box was beautifully wrapped in Japanese paper. The package was so neatly arranged that I didn't want to touch it. Haha!!! I labeled it "from all over Japan" since every pack has a Japanese province/city on it. The ones visible here (pix on top) would be Tokyo, Okinawa, and Kyoto. The taste? Hmmm... most of these cuties taste like our local "hopia". The others are like "tikoy", th...

God, I just need to vent! Hubby's leaving for Singapore, Cambodia, and Thailand. He'll be there for a project site visit and will be back after 10 days. We're meeting in Bangkok on Oct. 31 and staying there until Nov. 4. Still, I feel so lonely. Lonely, I think, is an understatement. It's been years since we got married but I still get this empty feeling whenever he leaves out of the country. Well, I simply hate it! Why can't I wait for Oct. 31 when it's just a few days away? Why can't I feel the excitement of spending some time for a vacation to a foreign land? Why can't I just look forward to celebrating my birthday? God, good thing my babies are with me. Grrr!!! I'm going mad! Hahaha!!!

I should be accomplishing my two final papers for my Master's Degree courses, but look at what's keeping me awake at this wee hour (1 am). Tadahhhh!!! My virtual restaurant in Facebook - Cafe World ! I discover this is a lot more fun than Farmville which takes hours to cultivate and harvest. This one's more interactive (sorry to FV's fans). I just wish this wouldn't be a hindrance for me to finish this sem. What a stress reliever! Hehe...