dear Cheetos

You know I love you! You are my daily after-dinner snack. I'd have you for breakfast, lunch and dinner too if I just wasn't afraid for my health.

I hate that I cannot go on any of those diets (South Beach, Cohen, Atkins, etc) because none of them will allow you in it... Because I seriously can't live without you. 

I just wish you could learn to keep our love affair our little secret. If you were broadcasting our love to the world with a 2-carat diamond ring on my finger, maybe I wouldn't mind. But orange stains on my thumb and index finger certainly pale (no matter how orange) in comparison. Somehow, it's hard to look professional in boardroom meetings the morning after our dinner date with orange fingers.

So my ever dearest Cheetos, could you please keep my love for you our little secret?

Photo from here.

Click here for previous posts from the Dear... series. 

daily dishonesty

Remember here when I told you I have a hard time lying and that this one lie (above) I had to admit I actually do tell?

Well, I discovered this blog that very prettily (via her hand-drawn typography) features the lies we tell every day. And it made me realize there are a few lies I do tell myself...

I just cannot give up junk food & candy.

Oh, they won't. Because I am really never getting on that treadmill. Remember these yoga mats?

But yes, these actually do.

Oh, and the quintessential lie of a crammer...  

Nah, I'll do it at the very last minute. :)

But this, I never lie about. I know I will have more than one glass. Okay, possibly a whole bottle.

Neither do I tell this lie.

I guess I'm an unapologetic drinker. Haha!

It is true that I find it really difficult to lie. These next two are pretty common lies that I really cannot bring myself to tell.

I'm always honest about this. I say "I just READ your text".

I struggle especially with this next one. 

I'd rather text where, on the road, I am so the person I'm meeting can estimate what time I will arrive rather than commit to 5 minutes when I'm not sure I can make it on time.

But there still are lies I have no trouble telling myself. This one I actually believe. 

I actually believe that I lose weight from shopping all day! Yes, I've lied so well to myself about it that I don't realize it's a lie anymore. Turns out, I am guilty of some daily dishonesty. 

Photos from dailydishonesty.

my birthday wish

*I wrote this post before my birthday but wasn't able to publish it on time.

My birthday wish... is to sleep in even for just 1 day. I just want to wake up on my own, when I've had a full REM. Not because of my alarm blaring in my ear.

Weekdays, I wake up at 520 to wake Noah up and nag (yes, nag!) him to go through the morning's necessary activities like eat breakfast, eat breakfast fast, eat breakfast faster, dress up, brush teeth, etc.

Saturdays are the same because Isabella has track practice at 730am and Noah has basketball school.

Sundays, we have Sunday School which isn't so early but Noah wakes me up early (why does he wake up early on his own on the one day he doesn't need to?!). I eventually get to go back to sleep. But that just gives me a few minutes before my alarm goes off to remind me to get ready for church.

So I just really want to sleep in...

These days, it would be the best birthday gift! :)

P.S. I was down with a really bad flu during my birthday week. And I got to sleep a lot. I felt horrible, but I did get my wish to sleep. Birthday Fairy, boy, you are one mischievous little imp! Sigh... I guess it's true you should be careful what you wish for.

Don't worry, I had a fun 5-day-long belated birthday celebration after I got well. I had 1 breakfast, 2 lunches & 3 birthday dinners with dear friends - with 2 of those birthday dates at Cafe 1771 so I got to have 2 slices of my fave coffee pie from here. :)

Photo from heritage.

my coffee shop name

As you might know from here, they never get my name right at Starbucks. I have to repeat it several times and the name on my cup is still totally wrong or, at best, misspelled. So once, on a whim, when asked for my name, I uttered the first name that came to mind - Vivian. And they got it right with just one mention and the name on my cup was spelled correctly! So since then, I've been using Vivian as my Starbucks name.

But after this...

... maybe I should change it again. I do admit it made me smile na vumi-Vivienne Tam ang Starbucks cashier. But just like my real name, my once trusty coffee shop alias is now also misspelled! Sigh.

Do they get your name right at coffee shops? If they do, can I borrow it as my new Starbucks name? If you're willing to lend it, just leave your name in a comment or email it to me! :)

Hmmm... Or should I forego regular names altogether and go for something like this? 

Hmmm, what about "The Boss"? Nobody needs to know that "of my household" follows that name nowadays. :) But I imagine "The Boss" will need to be repeated several times before the barista gets it, and even then, I'm sure it can be spelled "Da Boss" on my cup every now and then. And even if I went the narcissistic route, "Goddess" (or "Dyosa" for that matter) could go wrong in many horrific ways. So maybe I should just call myself "Supergirl"?

Egad! Hope you leave a comment or email me the perfect coffee shop alias! Or I will start using Supergirl as my new Starbucks name. :( 

Photos are my own and from pinkwallpaper & polkadotshoppingbag.

Click here and here for previous posts related to Starbucks. Click here for extraordinary art on latte foam.

pillow talk, literally...

During hotel stays, I always search the closet for a different type of pillow from the one on the bed. Because usually, hotels use down-filled pillows. I guess most guests prefer a soft down pillow that allows one's head to sink slowly into it.

It is, after all, the more costly pillow and I guess hotels believe their guests deserve the luxury. Probably works best for pillow fights too. :)

But I prefer the cheaper fiber-filled pillow.

I'd rather my pillow be resistant to distortion - to "fight back" instead of letting my head sink into it. I end up with a stiff neck the morning after I use a down pillow because my head sinks so deep, it's practically flat on the bed... which for me, defeats the purpose of a heady pillow (as opposed to Noah's huggy pillow).

What about you? What kind of pillow do you like?

Photos are my own and from annnniegirl. Pillow choices with labels are from Holiday Inn Express in Causeway Bay Hong Kong - an affordable hotel option; but its biggest plus is that Cong Sao Star Dessert is at the ground floor! Cong Sao serves delish shaved ice desserts. There's always a line to get in but there's a separate line for takeout orders. So if you're billeted in Express by Holiday Inn, just order your dessert to-go, show your keycard & get a 10% discount, and enjoy your iced dessert in the comfort of your room - with the pillow you prefer!

Click here for a previous post on some charming his & her pillows.

pretty storefront boards

These Coming Soon boards of Laduree (in Hong Kong) and Kate Spade (in Manila)...

... are so pretty, I'm not sure I want the stores to open because it will mean the boards will come down. :(

Photos are my own.

Click here for the ofdotsnthings version of this post.

oops, my neurosis is showing...

Signs that my candy obsession might be a tad neurotic:

1 I always have a plastic pouch of strawberry tape in my bag. And they're for me, not the kids. In fact, I have to admit I secretly wish the kids don't ask for some. Haha, selfish!

2 I truly believe my tummy has a separate compartment for candy. No matter how stuffed I am -- as the hubby would say, "kapag kasing-tigas na ng ulo ko yung tiyan ko" (cannot be translated for my non-Filipino readers so just read as "No matter how extremely full I am..."), I still have space for candy.

3 A trip to NYC is not complete without a visit to the M&Ms and Hersheys stores. I've had photo ops with the M&Ms mascots, I drool over the huge tubes of uniquely colored M&Ms (in unique pastels, easter colors and even different shades of neutrals)...

... and I struggle with the decision to NOT buy a pair of M&Ms earrings...

... or Hershey's memorabilia (and I go through this tug of war in my head every single time!).

4 I have a Bubbleyum messenger bag that I use as my office laptop bag. I shamelessly bring it to the boardroom amid my colleagues' Prada and Furla laptop bags (Don't worry, my direct-reports still respected me, or at least they acted like they did. Hehe.).

I first spotted it in FAO Schwarz but the tug of war in my head went towards not-buy. Months after though, I regreted my decision and purchased it online.

Oops, is my neurosis showing yet again?

Photos from annnniegirl, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Click here for previous posts from the Oops, My Neurosis Is Showing... series.

a waiter's view

 

How do you treat your waiter? My mom taught me to always say thank you to the people who wait on me at restaurants. When they refill my water, I say 'thank you'. When they hand me the salt, pepper, Splenda or spoon I asked for, I say 'thank you'. But I realized I hardly ever look up at them. My eyes are glued to the menu when I order (I might as well hand them a card with my order written on it like in the photo). Or glued to my glass, my food or the person I'm eating with when I thank the waiter for refilling my water.

 

So a couple of years ago, when my friend B told me about this book she was reading about how waiters are always overlooked, I felt really bad. B talked about how people never look waiters in the eye, how people tend to look past them - like they were invisible. I found this really sad. Especially since I was guilty of it. I realized then that the thank-you's I was so proud of were empty if I didn't so much as looked at the person I was thanking!

 

Since then, I've made an effort to look waiters in the eye. When I thank them, I make it a point to also make eye contact and smile at them. I am determined to make them feel they're people and not machines, to give them some human contact in the course of their workday. I am hoping that by doing this, waiters will no longer feel invisible and overlooked because no one deserves to feel that way.

 

So please, look your waiter in the eye. Smile at them. We can do this. One waiter at a time.

 

Photo from garancedore.

 

Click here for a previous post on how to talk to little girls.

dumb blood

As Einstein said, I am a genius (hah!). But this post is about my fish-climbing-a-tree moments.

 

As you know from here, I had a blood transfusion during Noah's birth. And I really believe they gave me dumb blood! Coz I seem to have turned dumb after. I no longer remember the many little dumb-blood moments I've had (okay, maybe the memory loss is due to the epidural, not the transfusion). But I do remember 2 big dumb-blood instances because the people I was talking to laughed out loud!

 

The first one was when I found out that pickles are made out of cucumbers. I thought a pickle was an actual vegetable, just like cucumber and asparagus. The whole pickle that sometimes comes with burgers are never as big as the cucumbers that come from the market! So how was I supposed to know that?!?!

 

The second dumb-blood moment was with Isabella. She was animatedly talking about this show Auction Hunters on History Channel. There was this episode where they spied a shark cage in one of the storage units. I was trying to make Isabella laugh by asking where the shark was. Coz I figured a shark cage held sharks just like dog cages held dogs. I did make Isabella laugh, but not because of the joke I was trying to make. Coz it turns out, shark cages hold divers to protect them from the sharks. Isabella was laughing hysterically - but the joke was on me!

 

See? Isn't it obvious the hospital gave me dumb blood?

 

Photo from heritage.

irony for dinner

My foodie friends and I were recently hoping for another gustatory night like this. We tried out this new Spanish restaurant at the Fort.

It's SOP for us to take photos of our food. Each of us is always armed with a camera and we (almost always) don't dig in until we've all (yes, until all 5 of us have) taken a photo of the dish. Problem is, the food wasn't very pretty to look at. The plating was okay, but the colors just weren't vibrant enough. Here's how the Seafood Paella and Catalan Sausages really looked.

But here's how my friend K's Instagram beautifully captured those dishes (plus the Croquetas with Spanish chorizo).

Love how Instragram turned unattractive food attractive!

The drinks really looked lovely though - Instagram or otherwise.

Don't you just love how pretty (and unique) the presentation is for each drink? In the jar is Beer Jared Margarita. The copper mug contains their Calamansi and Cherry Blossom Moscow Mule (homemade ginger vodka, calamansi, cherry blossom flowers, ginger beer). This one tasted really good! The one in the glass (with the chorizo on the side) was their Sangria Blanca (this was okay; I still prefer Cova's Summery Peach White Wine Sangria though). The wine (am more of a white or dessert wine kind of person, but that red wine in the top photo) was quite good though. I would go back for the drinks but not necessarily for the food...

Don't get me wrong. The food wasn't bad. It was just unremarkable. It didn't help that the Spanish owners were chatty. You see, when someone with that accent suggests a dish, your expectations tend to go up. To be honest, I could barely make out what he was saying, but it sounded really Spanish and thus, very delish. I mean, the way he said "chorizo" was so different, so authentic, that I was expecting extraordinary chorizo. But the chorizo and the rest of the food were quite ordinary.

I'd go back though. More for the drinks than the food (but I'd give their food another chance since they were still on soft opening when we were there). I'd go back... as long as my foodie buddies are with me. Because even on that night, as K so aptly put it, those four fun friends of mine made a forgettable dinner memorable.

Photos are my own and my friend K's instagram photos.

Today, I am unloving...

Who would have thought this tiny little green thing could make me sad? It's a plug for the coffee slit on Starbucks coffee cups - to prevent spilling on takeout orders.

Apparently, this has been around in other countries for a while now. Some say it was used even before Starbucks changed its logo here. Isn't it sad that our anti-spill solution in Manila is still this Post-it-flag-looking tape?

I first spotted this green little thing (I heard it's called a spill stick because the other end of the plug is a stir stick) during my recent trip to Hong Kong.

Coincidentally, my SIL (who just got back from working in New York) got used to the spill stick and last weekend, asked for one when she was given the tape. The Starbucks barista replied, "Ma'am, sa ibang bansa lang po yon. [Ma'am, they're only available in other countries.]".

I can't help it. I feel so sad for the Philippines. I guess, for me, it's a little green yardstick of progress. And sadly, Manila's not there yet. Today, I am unloving... that Starbucks' little green spill stick has not made it to the Philippines yet.

Photos are my own and from here.

Click here for previous posts from the Today, I am unloving... series.

for the sandwich thief

This is a different kind of sandwich art. This collection of acrylic abstract paintings which showcase a sandwich's ingredients is called "Lunch Box" by Dan Kenneally.

And if my lunch box had the other type of sandwich art here - those intricate, elaborate sandwiches, I wouldn't want anyone stealing my lunch.

Here's a hysterical anti-theft lunch bag.

Anyone who still steals your lunch would be absolutely disgusting!

Hilarious!

Photos from lushlee and here.

Click here for the of-dots-&-things version of this post - the one with the elaborate sandwiches you'd need to protect with the moldy lunch bag above.

a little something for our country

I won't pretend to be the most nationalistic Filipino. I'm not (though I did get teary-eyed during the National Anthem of one of Isabella's school programs after getting back from linving in Singapore for work). Like most of you, I recognize both the good and the bad about the Philippines.

But today, on the anniversary of Philippine independence, let's all do a little something for our country. Whether it be to go on a Philippine History Tour like Carlos Celdran's Intramuros one (which I found to be very enlightening as it was a very different point of view from what I learned in school. I also discovered from his tour that the ceiling details of the San Agustin Church is painted, not sculpted.)...

Or schedule a trip to local sights you haven't been to. It's sad that a whole year later, my Lakbayan score from here is still a C. I haven't added any new places to my online map that charts how much of the Philippines I've visited. To think, I got my HKIA Frequent Visitor card this year. Shameful!

Or add to the viral itsmorefuninthephilippine photos and hashtags to promote Philippine tourism. Did you know that BBDO, the brilliant advertising agency that developed the campaign only developed those three ads in their website here? The photos here, here and others you may have seen were all created and shared by regular Filipinos!

Or watch a Pinoy movie or TV show (I hear GMA News TV has brought a lot of substance to Philippine TV). Or listen to OPM music. Or buy from the many Pinoy entrepreneurs these days. Or read Before Ever After, Filipina Samantha Sotto's internationally-released novel or Pugad Baboy, which is now on its 23rd compilation. Or laugh out loud at Pinoy humor.

Or even just eat Pinoy streetfood like fishballs... the cleanest of which, I believe, are in UP because they go beyond a 'no double-dipping' rule with a tiny paper tray and squeeze-type-bottles as sauce-holders (so double-dipping is not even possible).

Or teach your child a new Filipino word. I think I'm going to teach Noah the word "kalayaan" today.

Let's all do a little something for our country today.

Photos from here, here and my facebook friend D's wall.

when life gives you lemons...

This is the original quote from Dale Carnegie. It's about making the most out of a bad situation.

It's funny though how many have made the most out of this quote.

Squeezing out a cute one like this...

Or a witty one like this...

Even a mean-spirited one like this...

And a practical one like this...

And finally, a hysterical one like this...

But really, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade or lemon bars or a lemony mixed drink. After all...

Happy Monday!

Photos from here, here, here, here, movihome, here and here.

delightful dinner dysfunction

I grew up eating dinner in front of the TV. We did it as a family. We would eat in our den with trays on tables like these (ours weren't as pretty though) and watch TV together. We watched dramas like Dallas, Knots Landing and Falcon Crest. We watched comedy shows like Three's Company, Who's the Boss?, Punky Brewster, Cosby Show, Alf and Perfect Strangers. I also remember watching Buck Rogers, Greatest American Hero, Moonlighting and Scarecrow & Mrs. King. We talked about our day during commercials, but once the show started again, we either laughed together, groaned together at annoying cliffhangers or playfully teased those that bawled during sad episodes. I didn't have a TV in my room and I never felt I needed it. Perhaps because TV time was family-time rather than alone-time for me.

I realize now it was odd not to sit at the dinnertable at dinner. And if you're wondering how my brother and I learned good table manners with this dinner-in-front-of-the-TV habit, I think it's because our mom used to take us out to lunch every weekend. I remember how when we were kids, we frequented Cafe Rizal in the old Rizal Theater, the Manila Garden coffee shop, SM's Cafe Elysee and Trattoria Uno in Ali Mall (see related post here). I also remember how my little brother would even pull our chairs for my mom & me at these restos. I'm sure the other lunch patrons who saw us kids with our napkins on our laps and scooping our soup away-from-rather-than-towards-us wouldn't have believed we ate our dinners on cafeteria trays in front of the TV.

I guess I have to admit that growing up, our dinners - maybe even our lunches - were not very common. Some would probably even frown upon them and call them dysfunctional. But for me, they were delightful family-bonding memories. And I wouldn't have had them any other way. 

Photo from FYNCT.