A Few Ramblings Afterwards

1)      After giving a tour to a close family member to a place where you currently live, you’d realize that you’re the one who’s acting more like the tourist. You took for granted the entire familiar the whole time you’re there and now that you’re given the time to explore it, fireworks were sort of everywhere.

2)   After reading the Fifty Shades trilogy, you will never get to look at cable ties in the same way again. Upon devouring all pages, your standards on men may probably elevate.The thing is, it’s badly- written but addictive. Nevertheless, you’ll come to a point where you’d say, “Oh crappy crap crap, here we go again with the lovemaking narrative crappy crap.”; then you'd suddenly get tired (of reading). But there are those however's... and the Christian Grey casting contests will consistently occupy your head.

3)      After listening to Paul McCartney’s and Wings’ Silly Love Songs, you will feel all too giddy about romance, even if you have no significant other. You will justify your sentiments by singing, well, a lot of silly love songs.

4)      After a three- day travel, you will only experience the fourth day when you dream of it in your bed. Most relaxing day ever.

5)      After finishing all TV series this season, you will think of fillers to make up for them as you wait for a few more months. You’d download pointless films and shows. That’s it. 

6)      After watching the music video for alt+J’s song called Breezeblocks, you would choose from your own real- life experiences an event which you could play in reverse yet still matches the song. It doesn’t have to be disturbing, though.

7)      After successfully surviving DAY 1 of the General Motor’s Diet as a first- timer, you would want to pulverize whatever's in front of you or whatever you get hold of. Self control is the key. Discipline is the shiznit. 

8)      After running 10 kilometers non- stop on a stressful day at work, all you’d want to do is rest. Still, you would want to run ever so wildly again in that glorious pair of compression tights.

9)      After watching The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s third of the Batman saga, you will ask yourself this: “WHY?”

Obviously, this was how I grasped reality after having gone through a crazy yet awesome mid- 2012. Your realizations may not be as cranked- up as mine, so just proceed. 

alt+ J's Breezeblocks (Original)

                                          alt+ J's Breezeblocks (Reversed)

                                       

Sipo Egg

A gazillion of people have no idea that cooking is one of my strong interests. It was only recently that I've posted in Facebook some of the dishes that I cook during the weekend. For others, it's unusual how a woman with an active lifestyle and busy schedule like me could still kill time in the kitchen. That's one big surprise to most, but to my loved ones whom I serve food ever since I learned to cook, it was only normal. 

I remember myself arguing with my father who enjoys pestering me in the kitchen by volunteering to cook with me, which I didn't allow because he'd eventually meddle with my city- cooking style versus his Ilocano way of preparing food. Papa, by the way, was that parent who woke up early to prepare our baon for school. Then, there's my brother who does the best stews, thick- sauced Caldereta, and that killer Sinigang, but consistently criticizes my well- loved Adobo just to annoy me. In the end, he'd crave for my pasta dishes and on- the- go meals. My mom, well... she enjoys eating what the three of us create (yeah, she's so careful and sweet with the criticisms), but I must say that I should give her credit for those desserts she made, the California Maki she rolled, or the banana cakes and cheesy potatoes she baked when I was younger.

Here in Singapore, even in the lack of the usual Filipino ingredients available, I must say that there is quite a number of good foreign stuff in the market which excites me all the time as they aid in really bringing out the taste of the dish. I'd experiment a lot until I give the food a Pinoy touch. My housemates and I then settle everything in the dining table.

Just recently, nostalgia hit me as I recalled this one dish which I got to taste in Pampanga during a field training in my previous company. My Kapampangan colleague had me taste for the first time a viand that they call Sipo Egg. Until now, I have no idea why it's called Sipo but I did recognize some quail eggs and mixed veggies in a creamy ensemble which tasted great with rice. I never got to try it for the second time in any restaurant in Makati, or probably, I haven't been to a place which actually serves this authentic Kapampangan dish in the metro.


I told myself: "I'll come back to Pampanga for that (and Sisig, haha!) or perhaps attempt to cook that..." However, for some odd reason, this didn't materialize!

So after a year, and with this nostalgia of that creamy and delectable memory, I made a version of Sipo Egg and prepared the following ingredients:

- Sliced carrots

- A cup of shrimp

- Diced celery stalks

- Diced turnip

- Chopped baguio beans

- Nestle cream

- Green peas

- Diced luncheon meat

- 20ish hard- boiled quail eggs

- Butter

- Ginisa Mix

- Onion

- Cornstarch dissolved in water

- A bit of evap milk

- Salt and pepper to taste

Now, that's a lot of stuff, right? I did the usual drill of sauteeing the onion with butter and added the luncheon meat and shrimp. When the shrimp was already a bit brownish in color, I put the rest of the veggies. After a few minutes, I added the Nestle cream, water, cornstarch, and the quail eggs. When it boiled, I just poured like two tablespoons of evaporated milk and then added a dash of pepper, ginisa mix, and salt.

Here's the outcome:

RESULT: My housemates loved it! The three of us managed to have great amounts of the Sipo Egg served over steamed white rice! Verdict? AWESOME!

This is my first time to blog about my kitchen- related activities, although it's been really like a feast every week or so in our dining table. I guarantee more posts about my daring adventures in the kitchen. The thing is, I really am taking the art of cooking seriously now more than ever!

Sundown Marathon Singapore 2012

Yes. I did it. I am fierce na talaga. Hahaha!

So ayun na nga at tumakbo ako sa Sundown Marathon 2012 dito sa Singapore kasi wala na naman daw akong magawa at kung anu - ano naman daw ang pinagttripan ko (I love you, mama! LOL). Gaano kalayo? Bongo drumroll, please....

21 kilometers, baby! That's 21 kilometers or a half marathon!

Nasa venue na ako around 10pm noong Sabado, ika- 26 ng Mayo, 2012- two days after my birthday. Bawat taon kasi akong tumatakbo at may race na sinasalihan tapos palayo rin ng palayo ang distance ko, hence, the Birthday Run. 

Pagdating ko sa Nicoll Highway, heto ang aking nasaksihan  ko:

Shot from my BB

At konti pa yan! A total of 28,000 runners actually ran during this event. WOW.  Ang mga Pinoy runners, ayun, pumangalawa sa lahi at nationality ng pinaka- madaming nag- register. 1,400, next to the Malaysians. 

So back to the event. Naunang tumakbo ang mga 10 km runners. Ako naman eh nagiikot (nagroronda, lol), nagsstretch, kumakain ng saging (isang piling ang baon ko eh!), at kumuha pa ng neon green na light stick kasi ang tagline this year eh "Light up the city". Ayun, hanggang sa 12:30 na ng umaga at kinailangan ko nang pumunta sa starting line. Nasa 3:00:00 mark ako kasi ayokong makipagsabayan sa mga dakila at confident na matatapos in 2 hours dahil alam kong hindi ako nakapag- ensayo ng mahusay para dito. In short, hindi ako solid na handa, pero pwede pa rin namang tumakbo. Positive tayo.

And so the race started. Singapore's night scape was amazing. It was almost the same route as the 2XU Compression Run last which I joined on March 2012, except that Sundown was held at midnight. You could just imagine all the lights and sights while running during that time.

Pagdating ng 16th km, ay grabehan at biglaan ang pagbuhos ng malakas na ulan. Actually, pinagdasal ko kasi kay Lord na umulan talaga para libreng hydration anywhere, pero di naman ganun ka- OA! May hangin pang involved! Yun lang, hindi ako sumilong ng matagal at sumugod ako sa basa at maputik na mga kalye hanggang sa finish line pavement, kung saan mangiyak- ngiyak akong tumawid at nagfi- fist pump. Na naman. Hahaha!

Haller! Happy birthday run! 3 Years in a row :D

At proud kababayan din ako dahil mga Pilipino ang nagwagi ng first place for Men's and Women's categories ng 21km! Ang husay! Kayo na ang halimaw at idol sa takbuhan. Ayoko naaaah. Kidding!

Congratulations to all runners. Miski na anong distance pa yan, ang galing niyo. Natapos mo? Ayos yan. 

Until our next run; pero pahinga muna dahil may kina- career akong bagong activity. But yeah, I'm so excited!

Tandaan: Never ever settle!

Mabuhay! My finisher's medal, woot woot!

Tumba na'ko nito.

Happy Image # 03: Tioman

Pulau Tioman is a small island in Malaysia which can be reached very easily from Singapore. Oh, the word pulau stands for the word "island" in Bahasa Malaysia and Indonesia. 


The travel to Pulau Tioman is quite easy as long as you know of the schedules. We first took a bus in Kranji MRT Station and headed to Larkin Terminal in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. From Larkin, there are buses and taxis directed towards Mersing of about two hours travel time. We waited for the first ferry trip from Mersing jetty port off to Tioman. The ferry schedule varies daily as it's based on the tide.

The accommodation I booked is located on a quiet part of the island called Nipah, which is actually what I really wanted since I'm the type of beach goer who hates seeing too many crowds and hearing very loud music while getting basked. 


It is also a diving site, and the land is surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. 

Here's my first Happy Image for this year, shot in the very relaxing and scenic island of Tioman.

Tioman Twin Peaks; Shot with a Canon SX40 HS

A Letter To My 20- Year Old Self

Dear 20- Year Old Kate,

Congratulations in advance for actually making it into your twenties journey. Well, 9 years from now you will have reached only one out of six of what you really wanted to become: HR Professional slash Teacher slash Lawyer slash Forensic Psychologist slash Journalist slash Rockstar based in your homeland, but who cares! You will return to Singapore unexpectedly so you'd have to deal with that move pretty well. Think about how tough you'd be with so many experiences. Things will actually be more awesome than you ever thought of. 

Oh, by the way Kate, I'm writing you this letter to let you know that it's alright. You're nearing your birthday, which'll be the beginning of your last year of completing your Before Thirty Bucket List.

But let's focus on your concerns as a 20- year old. You see, there'd be a lot of screw- ups ahead of you, yet on the bright side, you're off to check out a lot of life's good stuff. Muse over how excited you were as a graduate fresh from college who's about to enter into what they label as the gruesome corporate world. Actually that's the only thing that mattered in your heart: making a mark into a futile environment at age 20 onward. You never wanted a lot of those girly- girl and wifey- wife dreams. You just wanted to become a career freak and to someday adopt a kid. You believed that too much involvement in very personal affairs will get you out of focus. What an ambitious, selfish, and cold- hearted 20- year old. Okay, here's some spoiler for you, skinny girl: your views will kinda change. You're going to experience some balance halfway and you'd better be ready for some slight tweaks in your ambitions. So live it up and stop being too serious at an early age. You will soon be very mesmerized about the importance of family, friendship and love so get a grip.

I've some bit of advice for you though to let you breeze through your twenties ride smoothly:

• Do and take "things" moderation. Otherwise, you'll get cracked up.
• Learn self- defense. Attend that kickboxing or wushu class you've been dying to go to. 
• Use the right defense mechanisms into situations where you feel compromised.
• Research the funniest and creepiest of jokes, stories, icebreakers, and games. These will really be helpful as you enter the HR world. 
• Ever thought about investments and stocks? Then think about it when you turn 24!
• Spend a great deal of time with your family. Be nicer to them. Cook for everybody at home or spoil them with dinner treats when you can. Remember, the first people you should give pasalubong to when you're fresh from a trip are your family!
• Never ever trade your precious reading time for some silly date. 
• Don't feel too complacent that you'll maintain that teenage figure forever, so be cautious of your health and fitness activities. Metabolism stuff? That's true.
• Talk to your father with a free mind and coerce him to help you build your own vegetable garden. Get a car even though he doesn't want you to drive. Don't be scared- he'll never actually pop your tires.
• Lessen the errands you ask of your mother and increase your spa or facial treatments together.
• Go out with your brother more often and ask him to train you in playing poker. Stop doing his assignments for the love of God! Don't be evil to his would- be girlfriends, haha!
• Become a collector, not a hoarder. There's a BIG difference.
• Embrace your beloved grandparents very tightly and take them to the moviehouse. Make sure to buy a lot of turtleneck tops that your Nanay loves. Eat every meal that your Tatay cooks for you no matter how full you are. Work on those brain- twisting crossword puzzles together more often. Visit your Lola in Pangasinan to dance some cha cha cha. You will miss these... them.
• Yes, head to that voice talent audition. 
• Why the hell did you stop making and selling chocolates??? Go get that stupid molder!
• Chill and don't be such a hot- tempered bitch. You need not blame PMS all the time.
• Make your wardrobe colorful. It currently looks like a stack of dominoes with a few mud brown and moss green colored stuff.
• Have a good attendance record. Never get tempted to be absent and tardy due to laziness. Stop claiming that you're suffering from clinomania. 
• Start running. You may hate it now that you're 20 but unbelievably, you will one day get high and run a marathon. One day.

20- Year Old Kate 

About To Turn 29- Year Old Kate

I pray that you'd get through your twenties full of faith and spunk. It may not be as outstanding, but you are going to do a good job anyway. Thanks for that powerful self control that everybody admires, but I need to remind you to let loose and get crazy during your mid- twenties. That innate sense of humor is going to kill a crowd. Your love for food, traveling, and photographs will really get you to places. So put on your dancing shoes and salsa your upcoming years away because everything will be okay. Things will be FAB!

Toodles and Love,

About To Turn 29- Year Old Kate

First Quarter Stillness

The first three months of 2012 have been really insane. A combo of emotions, hardcore events, and too much sleeping was at work. Even my blogging's been put to hiatus and so accounts of my awesome experiences and travels were just stuck here in my head, waiting for the memory chopper to pick 'em up and drop 'em off into the black hole. Two things though that were constant were the following: a) I did most stuff on impulse, and b) I met MORE new friends. 

My body clock has also become granny- ish lately! Just to give you an idea, I was the perpetually ultimate and crazy nocturnal that one can ever meet! Ever since I settled into my new place though, there's never been a time that I slept for less than eight hours. Total relaxation is sweet! I admit however that this is against my principle of not sleeping so as not to miss out on things because of that "Life's too short" cliche. Haha, so dumb. Now, I would work out and tire myself off so that I could get myself glued to the bed instantly. And I will not wake up no matter how strong the forces of nature have been trying to bug my buzzing. I wouldn't mind even if you go frolicking on my bedside.

I felt that I've done so many things and actually went to some places for the past three months, but I don't want to get into a blow by blow account of all those. Honestly, I lost track of the news because pretty much merrymaking with la vida lately has been so fab. I will just put together all those experiences, places, concepts, and issues that went on from January to March of this year with my li'l cent on the opposite:

a) Kony 2012 video: Filipino slacktivism. I can't believe that a lot have fallen for this. 

b) My February weekend in the Philippines: AWESOME! Family, friends, wakeboarding, food, stairs accident, and alcohol! 

c) Azkals: Wake up! Geez.

d) The Hunger Games film: Josh Hutcherson's exactly how I imagined Peeta to look like. I read the book twice on 2011. As always, the book's always better than the flick. But--- 'ever read or seen Battle Royale?

e) Pinterest: Now getting my ass worked up for the interior of my soon- to- be crib, formal make- up school preps, food porn, and some ramblings.

f) My version of "Look At Me Now": And I bang in the east and I bang in the west... My recorded rap video's still stored in my hard drive. "Do you really wanna know what's next?" LOL.

g) Thought Catalog: I. Am. So. Into. It. I'm wired to be weird.

h) TRX Suspension Training: Are you saying that the body is evil and so it must be punished? I hate how difficult this is!

i) Bintan, Indonesia: Bin- tin (Bintan is Nakakabitin!)

j) Gotye - KMN, FML moments FTW.

k) Wicked: Defying gravity!?

l)  Singapore club scene: I felt so old that the mornings after the hard nights on the dance floor had me going grumpy the following day.


m) Magnum Ice Cream hype: Just because the elite circle in the Philippines are promoting this doesn't make you one of them when you eat Magnum. You're being Punk'd! Stop making duck faces in photos while you're about to take a bite. Get a Pinipig stick instead!

n) Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss: Such an amazingly stirring work.


So the first three months were blah and so- so but I'd still consider them to be kinda cool. It's like experiencing total chill out before summer time. 


I am capping this off with The Burning Man's delivery of Oh, The Places You'll Go. Feel the amazement as I did (and tears were gushing from my eyes for every line of the poem)! By the way, the Burning Man peeps are HOT. Add- on:

Shake It Out, Woman!

Draaat! I only came to notice this song two weeks ago when it was played in the last few scenes of the 17th episode of How I Met Your Mother Season 7. 


SPOILER Alert: So Robin moved out of Ted's apartment. Big changes for the friends, eh? Of course, one cannot live in the same premises with the person who broke his heart. 


Here's my February earworm, Shake It Out by the amazing Flo:


"And I am done with my graceless heart. So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart."

Right? Such an amazing and moving song about life, direction, and freedom. This is now on default. I've always loved Flo whose music's been a part of my "winning- the- dog- days" saga.


UPDATE AS OF 15 MARCH 2012: Katharine MacPhee's character, Karen Cartwright of the new TV broadway musical show (and currently my addiction) SMASH, performed this song in a bar mitzvah gig during its 6th episode. It was sooo good!