Friday’s Feast: I love Cheese!
This is my own participation to Friday’s Feast Number One Hundred Forty Five hosted by Susiepie. Just stumbled upon this site and I feel this is something I can do every week just so my readers can get to know me better.
Appetizer
Name a sound you like to hear …. my children laughing
Soup
What is your favorite kind of cheese?
Anything but Blue … from the very affordable Eden cheese I stuff with my hot pan de sal to the exquisite pan-fried chicken breast stuffed with Emmenthal cheese I tasted in Last Sat’s French cooking class
Salad
Do you sleep late on Saturday mornings? Why or why not?
It depends if I worked the graveyard shift the night before; in that case, am sleeping all the way!!!
Generally though, I rarely wake up late. I am always woken up by the pitter-patter of little feet 
Main Course
When was the last time you forgot something? What was it, and how long did it take you to remember it?
Am a chronic amnesiac, and whenever am in the house, I always forget where I “hid” my wallet. I have to hide it differently each time because of some bad experience with ‘kleptomaniac’ maids
Dessert
Fill in the blanks: I notice —– when —— .
I notice that when I am less impatient, the world is a much better place.
All ready for Globe Roamer TV!
If you were given the chance to travel to 25 countries for almost free , would you take it??
Throwing caution to the wind, I would! This is the concept behind Globe Roamer TV the first internet TV show of its kind to roam through “25 countries in 212 days with six backpackers, a camera, a blog and a mission to see it all.”
The show will feature almost daily vlogging and blogging and if all goes well could evolve into a reality TV show focusing on what else but….travel. It will document the life of backpackers on the road as they cross continents, make pit stops, sleep in guesthouses and travel by air, trains and buses for a gruelling seven months, after which they will hopefully live to savor it all 
The Ajay is pleased to be the first member (and the only Asia-based Asian) to be admitted to the team, which will have its launch in San Francisco, California in September 2008. The rest of the cast is composed of:
Daniel Haneveer, a new traveller from Hobart, Australia who is the author of the blog The Lost Globe
Edward Cheng, The Photographer, a native New Yorker who has travelled to 40 countries in the past 10 years.
Clare Jackman, 22 year-old student of the University of California-San Diego, veteran traveller of 35 countries.
Brendan Thompson, avid surfer and Texas A & M student.
Openings remain for two more “light-haired” travellers from either the Canada, US, UK, Australia and New Zealand to join the team.
The project’s lead organizer is political consultant and internet professional Eric Odom, also the brains behind ConservaBlogs.com.
For a tentative list of countries GRTV will visit, click here. This includes the UK, Ireland France, Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Australia, New Zealand and a few others. Naturally I would like to meet friends/fellow Filipinos when we do come by and visit.
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Just in case you’re not doing it yet…
because according to this site’s stats, 60% or more of this blog’s readers are still using Internet Explorer.
When you use IE, my sidebar goes into the bottom of the page and looks in disarray. Not only that, it’s less secure and way, way slower.
Bring yourself back to civilization and download Firefox now It only takes a few minutes to do so.
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Cooking class redux: French Bistro cookery with Chef Jean Pierre-Migne
Can’t believe I now have two aprons and two chefs hats from attending cooking classes two times in a row.
The last one on French Bistro Cooking was truly superb! First, I get to rediscover a cuisine that is famous for its snob appeal (excuse me, what is cuisse de grenouille again?) you also get to twist your tongue just saying it and you’re not even sure if it’s right. Then, we get to learn it first-hand from a jolly chef named Jean-Pierre Migne who was game enough to share us some of his expert tips and secrets.
Chef Migne, who is married to a Filipina, heads the kitchen at one of the metro’s much-acclaimed, most romantic Euro-Continental restaurant, Le Bellevue. Situated on the 27th floor of the Manila Diamond Hotel, this is the best spot to view Manila Bay in all its splendor and Manila’s thousand flickering lights at night.
Pro’s and Con’s Of Dating a Blogger and/or Having a Blogger as a Significant Other
So many things are running in my mind now…
including my involvement in this awesome new media travelling project, details of which have been announced or will be announced soon.
And so I write this post as a form of comic relief.
Thought about this while observing my blogger-friends and their non-blogging partners. I really should write an article soon about couples and how blogging figures in their relationship. Knowing how time-consuming and engaging blogging can be, have you ever wondered what happens between them when she’s blogging and he’d rather watch sports on TV? She’s so glued to the computer that she can’t even hear him say †let’s go to bed now, honey†or “honey! the food is burning!” Most likely,finishing a blog post takes precedence over everything else.
Most of the friends I know seems to be blessed with gracious, kind husbands who willingly accommodate their blogging fixation. Ms. T, for example, would meet us in the mall in an EB while her husband windowshops, waiting for her to finish. J and M first met in an online group and he doesn’t at all mind her vivid online confessions which happened back when she was still single. And the last time I talked to G, I learned that her husband is already blogging too. I immediately summoned the mental image of both of them positioned back-to-back, both facing their laptops.
(As for me, I cannot yet imagine dating a blogger, unless of course everyone turns out to be one. Am already suffering from blogging overload as it is. I need someone who will dine with me, or discuss with moi the merits of a book or movie without thinking…” do you think we should blog about this?”
Of course, it can also be quite irritating with a non-blogger date who will utter “I read in your blog that….” But that’s another story.)
So here, my own take on the Pro’s and Con’s of Dating a Blogger/ Having a Blogger as a Significant Other. Do feel free to add your anecdotes and ideas
The Unofficial Etiquette Guide to Bloggers’ EBs
I certainly don’t know how the “word” eyeball originated. I presume it means finally seeing someone or some people you’ve only corresponded with through email, text or any other electronic medium. Hence, the informal use of the word “eyeball” or eye-to-eye. So prevalent is the term that folks use it even after they met the person(s) several times already.
The crux of the matter is that EBs are getting to be a common occurrence in the blogosphere. Can’t anymore count the number of EBs I attended ever since I went to the first Pinoyblog Christmas party in December 2004. There are those precious times when I meet with my close online friends (such as the one I’ve just wrapped up with our Blogkadahan… post coming next) and the rest were spent covering the EBs for my column (after which you have the chance of seeing your face in the newspaper, heheh).
As I found out, EBs can be an enlightening thing. Sometimes, a blogger’s online persona does not match his/her actual personality. It always pays though not to judge a book (blogger) by the cover. And a blogger has to remember that a one does not go to an EB to be shy or sulk in a corner, you’re there to network, make friends, gain new links and be noticed.. otherwise, what’s an EB for?? Here’s my unofficial EB etiquette guide for bloggers:
The Manila Bay sunset and appreciating certain facets of the city I never knew from my hotel window…
Roxas Boulevard is my favorite part of Manila. With its numerous landmarks and trees lining the middle lane of the road, it is the one part of the city that remains naturally picturesque. Running the whole length are such attractions such as the Cultural Center, Manila Yacht Club, Metropolitan Museum, Baywalk, Baypark, Rizal Park , Manila Hotel and a few buildings dating back to the pre-war era. There are also the regular fixtures like calesas, two-decker buses and early-morning joggers.
Still, the one thing that stands out in Roxas Boulevard, one that shouldn’t be missed for all the world, is the Manila Bay sunset. There are a few wonderful ways to enjoy this world-famous sunset, occurring on or before six in the evening. One is to position yourself in the concrete dike by the breakwater, or sit in any of the al-fresco cafes in Baywalk – gazing at the setting sun while savoring, perhaps, a cup of espresso or cappuccino.
Another way is being in a building that overlooks the graying Manila skyline and Manila Bay. You won’t believe how expensive condominium prices are in the city just because they afford a view of the bay and the sunset. Several times in a year I treat myself to the luxury of checking in to a hotel because I live further in and all I see are smog and decaying structures. Whenever I do so, it always pays to be extra-friendly to the front desk receptionist so I can ask her/him to “please give me a room with a view!” And when it’s time to enter the room, off the bags go.. I part the curtains and savor the sight of the expansive bay, the buildings, the vehicles and the people on Roxas Boulevard transformed into miniature creatures from my hotel room window. Don’t know why I love doing this. It keeps me sane, it makes me appreciate the city of which I have a love-hate relationship.
Some hotels I’ve stayed in with the fantastic views:
G Hotel…. looks g-r-e-a-t
This is not a sponsored advertisement…
but the first time I walked into the lobby of the G Hotel along Roxas Boulevard in Manila I fell in love with it.
Sushi means ‘vinegar rice’ & other lessons from a Japanese cooking class
Speaking of Japanese cooking….
thanks to my super-friend and mega-fab PR Amor Maclang, I was able to join a complimentary Japanese cooking class at the Diamond Hotel, one of her clients (now you know why I felt so privileged eating that wagyu..) Taking a cooking class has always been a fond dream, and Amor must have been reading right through me to think of including moi.
After laying out that nori and rolling the maki in a saran-wrapped bamboo mat, never will I eat my favorite Japanese food in the same way again. The class has highlighted my appreciation of the cuisine even more.
We were a class of ten women (and I sensed that blogger Jayvee must have felt the urge at one point to hide under the table, being the only male student .) Our teacher was Chef Junichi Sekiyama , who heads the kitchen at the Diamond’s own Yurakuen Resto, hands-down the best Japanese restaurant in Manila in terms of ambiance and taste.
“Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat…” – The Book & The Diet
This summer, I’ve been lugging around a copy of the book “Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat” by Naomi Moriyama and William Doyle. I first picked this one up in a quaint bookstore in Kota Kinabalu… just a glance of the words “anti-ageing” and “slimming” was enough for me to part with my precious $10, even though I haven’t bought or read a book in years (shame, shame,shame)
No regrets because after all, am an avid disciple of Japanese cooking and for the past year, have turned into a tea-drinker more than a coffee-drinker. At first glance, the book looks like the answer to the seemingly haughty, popular title “French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure.” I am more inclined to believe the Asian version as I’ve only encountered a few French but have seen a number of Japanese who are something like 60 years old but look only like they’re 40.
So what’s the secret? The book shares a few recipes and easy tips to living agelessly and healthily:
Blogging since 2004 and recently married to Mr Z. I can't live without coffee....and brown sugar.
