Pear with Honeycaramel and cinnamon syrup

After watching One More Chance for the first time ever and crying over one particular scene (when Trisha breaks up in such a classy manner with Popoy), I felt the need to elevate my endorphine level back to exceedingly high; so off I went to our kitchen and rummaged through our cupboards and our ref to find any suitable ingredients to cook with.


Found some pears in the ref, some honey caramel syrup and thought of heating the pear in a pan. I added some cinnamon powder, a tinge of vanilla extract, a lot of black pepper, tasted it and cringed. It’s much too sweet! I would have wanted to add in some cider vinegar but i don’t have any; i used a cup of white wine instead and let it simmer for a while.


It still turned out to be sweeter than I would have preferred it, even if I ate it with wine, and it would have been better if I baked it instead of using the pan but again, being a perpetual pollyanna, not bad for a first try! ^_^

Scrambled Eggs with Truffle Oil

to celebrate the first weekend of not leaving the house, i finally decided to open the truffle oil that my bestfriend got me from italy. i poured a few drops in a spoon to taste it --- found it earthy, nutty, and sweet. it's also hard to miss what j-- was talking about: the gaas-like taste and smell, but after a while, you kinda get used to it.

checking our cupboards for ingredients to use the truffle oil with, i finally decided on a simple scrambled eggs. i used some oyster mushrooms, parmesan cheese, oregano, black pepper, a bit of cayenne pepper and a few drops of truffle oil!

i loved it!

really, my instant noodles days are fast becoming a distant memory. hurray!!

Laing Pasta

saw chef bruce lim making a laing pasta at chef’s table in AFC last night. it looked really interesting…so interesting that during commercial break, i was rummaging through our cupboard to see if i still have those canned laing on hand. it turned out, i’m out of it.

after work and a trip to the gym, i passed by goldilocks to buy laing and made one at home! yup, i cheated coz i used ready-made laing, but no worries —- someday, i’ll learn. i boiled the pasta, heated the laing and combined them! plated it, sprinkled it with more chili flakes and viola!

the verdict: well, it tasted like..laing..haha! it was a big joke, actually. the only difference is that i used pasta instead of rice, but i still liked it. i prefer pasta to rice anyways. mom loved the idea, too ^_^

Cappuccino with a twist @ Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

Salted Caramel Infused Double Shot Cappuccino @ Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf --- it sounds really weird but it tastes surprisingly good. Salty, Creamy, Sweet, and Bitter! But it’s not going to be my regular drink. It’s much too heavy and I felt so bochog after! I still prefer my hot cafe americano --- serious, straightforward, no-nonsense coffee. my drug of choice.

I Survived Brazilian

Strip Manila, Greenbelt

I survived brazilian! yay!!!

And it wasn't as bad as I imagined it to be! Except for one part with the most concentration of hair, all-off waxing was actually tolerable. Cristina, my " stripper" (therapist naman daw!), is as professional as she could be! After 2 minutes of being in a compromising position, I was nearly at eased with her.

Strip Manila in 4F Greenbelt 5 actually uses hot wax compared with cold wax that most salons, like lay bare, use...and it made a lot of difference. Hot wax opens the pores making it easier and less painful to remove unwanted hair. The salon is also very hygienic! The therapist uses disposable gloves and throws away the wooden popsicle-like applicator once she applies the hot wax on my skin. She, then, uses a new applicator to dip it in the hot wax!

The price isn't bad either. All-off brazilian is P1200 but since it's my first visit, I got a 20% discount and paid only P960! I also got a post-treatment cream at P1650 that is said to prevent skin irritations, itchiness and ingrown hair.

The inner sex goddess has been unleashed! This is the birth of a monthly ritual, it seems! ^_^

Details:

Strip Manila, Ministry of Waxing 
4F Greenbelt 5Legaspi Street, Ayala Center
T (632) 501.3997
Store Hours: Sun-Thurs: 11AM to 9PM
Fri-Sat: 11AM to 10PM

Strip Manila - Serendra
2nd Floor, Serendra, Bonifacio High Street
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
T (632) 856.9145
M (63917) 847.2112
Store Hours:
Mon-Sun: 10AM to 10PM

La Union Solo Surfing Trip

Kicking off 2011 with a solo trip to San Juan, La Union.

A few days before Jan. 2, I realized I don't have anything planned yet! Well, as early as November, I had penciled in trips in my 2011 calendar, but I somehow lost my calendar (great!) and was back to zero!

So I decided to go on a solo trip to San Juan, La Union! It didn't matter that I had no idea what bus to take going there (good thing, the cab driver I asked knew enough to take me to Partas terminal in Cubao where I could take the one going to Ilocos), or if my room reservation was not confirmed (I ended up staying at another resort since the only available room at San Juan Surfing Resort is for 4 pax -- so not willing to shell out that much money, sorry!), or if the waves are high enough to surf in (back in August, we looked like roasted pigs on our surf board, waiting for waves to come).

In a series of fortuitous events, the bus dropped me off the highway, walking distance from where the resorts are, found a cheaper place to stay (P700/night, compared to P1500/night in most resorts in San Juan), got back in Manila at 9pm on Monday and got in the office with 15 minutes to spare, and the waves --- they were so amazing! I was mesmerized, overwhelmed, humbled by its majesty. I was at its mercy --- like anytime, it could engulf me and take me away if it chooses. In the morning, when the undercurrent is not so strong, it's perfect for whitewater surfing!

San Juan, La Union

Look at how strong the waves are!!

People by the shore brace themselves for the coming waves...

The waves are so strong that nobody agreed to lend me their surfing board.
They said, the waves are not for beginners and,
even with an instructor, the undercurrent was just too strong.



So I just sat on the shore --- the sky alone was enough to keep me amused! 



Look at that!!

Simply majestic.

After a quick display of amazing sunset hues, the whole area was engulfed in darkness.

By 7am, I finally got to surf! Hurrah!!

I think I found my hideaway. This is a great place to disappear to every once in a while, and definitely worth the trip --- even if I have to go alone again! ^_^

Aside from fulfilling a long-overdue trip to the beach, I realized it's not so bad to be alone. Heck, it's not a state anyone would consciously aspire for but it's also not something to be dreaded like a disease! Every so often, it is imperative that we spend time alone. One of the things I liked about this trip is that nothing is required of me except to be myself. I could choose not to talk to anybody or be somebody else! I could be Dikya Marie, the writer/surfer, and not Señorita, the Oracle HR shock absorber. I could sit by the beach and dig my toes into the sand, stare at the waves the entire morning and do absolutely nothing. I could just breathe in and out and revel at the incredible lightness of being! And in a world of almost 7 Billion (the exact figure is 6,893,200,000, 40% of which are Chinese and Indians), can we really be fully alone?

But the so-called silence in solitude didn't last for long --- after 1 day of being quiet, I was practically begging for the locals to talk to me!!! teehee!!! but yeah, great start for 2011!! ^_^

A Balancing Act

a few months ago, i went on an accidental quest to find what others might call peace of mind.

only i call it balance.

i have achieved it, glad to say. i have been enjoying its fruits and consuming it with unquenchable thirst.

i breathe it. i thrive in it. i am happy in it BUT

i am always looking over my shoulder, careful to spot the first signs of conniving darkness. i feel its presence as if it's just a few steps behind me, ready to engulf me when i least expect it. i could end up on the bathroom floor again, exhausted, devoid of light, hoping against hope for things to be better. i know with absolute certainty, i know. i feel it lurking about...

and that alone tells me i have not fully let go.

because to live for the moment means to never have to worry. you know everything will end one day. you accept its fleetingness and its very nature compels you to savor it while you still can.

i had been under this mindset as i boarded the plane to Hong Kong last week. i would like to find a way, a formula, a guarantee in maintaining my balance and keeping worry at bay.

i searched for "enlightenment" in the monastery of 10,000 buddhas. i took the KCR east trail and got off at sha tin station, walked up the seemingly endless concrete stairs planked with various bronze statues unknown to me. I stuck out like a sore thumb -- my brown skin and almond-shaped eyes like a scarlet letter on my forehead, telling me i didn't belong there. but, with due respect, i've always believed that whether one prays to Buddha, or Allah, or God, or Yahweh, it doesn't matter. as long as one believes in something larger than oneself.

there are 10,000 buddhas housed in one temple. surely, if i keep quiet long enough, one of them would whisper its secret to me. but minutes rolled by and no light struck me. i was still the same, albeit sweaty and a little out of breath.

it is a taoist temple but perhaps it would accommodate a person of catholic beliefs. i sure hope wong tai sin is a firm believer of religious tolerance and will turn a benevolent eye on a girl searching for answers. undeterred and full of hope, i went to another temple in kowloon, the wong tai sin temple, dedicated to the great immortal wong. people visit this temple believing their prayers will be answered thru kau cim practice.

so i sat in a corner and watched.

people lit jost sticks by the altar and then walked at the back to kneel. they would shake a wooden cylinder full of sticks engraved with chinese characters until one of the sticks fall out. they would copy the engravings on a piece of paper and would go to one of the fortune tellers outside the temple. i watched..and watched...and watched hoping for a eureka moment; but still, it remained elusive.

which led me to ngong ping, face-to-face with the bodhi wishing tree...repeating over and over the one desire of my heart like a mantra, removing all thoughts from my mind, like the inconvenience of my sore feet and the sweltering heat of the sun on my back, less my wish won't get through.

surely the tree wouldn't mind that i didn't pay the astounding fee and didn't post my wish on the wall. but the bo tree kept its lips shut. it only speaks to buddha, and not to a thrifty catholic girl that goes by the name of jill.

and so, i walked up the stairs to the leshan giant buddha. but with each step i take, i was in no way nearer the answers i seek. and the only thing i found at the top was the magnificent view, which more than compensated for the trek up.

by the time i got down, it was almost 12. i heard the po lin monastery serves vegetarian meals from 11:30 till 5pm. so i shelled out $60 and found my way into the monastery.

i pictured how the lunch would go in my head! a monk, in yellow or maybe red robes, would meet me by the entrance. i would be led to a room of moderate size, painted in red and with sinographs covering the walls. it would have long tables and cushions instead of chairs. the hall would be full of people with small bowls of bounties before them, carefully bringing the chopstick to their mouth as if in deep contemplation. no one was talking; everyone in comfortable silence. 

but instead of the monk greeting me by the glass door (yup, not quite the impressive,wooden door i had in mind), a surly waiter gestured to me, as he doesn't speak english and my scarlet letter remained evident, to follow him at the middle of the room. the place was, in its truest sense, a crowded chinese restaurant bursting with activities. no red walls, no meals consumed in meditative silence, no long tables and cushioned seats.

another waiter brought a tin kettle of hot tea on my table. as i sip my tea, the absurdity of it all became apparent to me. laughing at myself, i decided to charge the whole experience to the ever increasing list of my bloopers.

i was served with an insipid soup, steamed veggies with curd sheet, shiitake mushrooms with kangkong, and spring rolls; all of which came with a caserole of rice that i barely touched. my friend warned me about monasteries serving bland dishes, but they were surprisingly flavorful, with the exception of the soup! the mushrooms and kangkong were cooked with soy sauce and ginger, making it salty and a bit spicy. the steamed veggies were still crunchy and sweet, providing a perfect contrast to the mushrooms. and the spring rolls --- ah!!! (perhaps i should explain that a week before flying to hong kong, i was at krazy garlic. the tables within my periphery had spring rolls, only i was told i couldn't have any because it has shrimps! so having spring rolls at po lin was akin to fulfilling a week-long lust.)

and despite the dining experience being far from what i expected, i truly enjoyed it. nothing extraordinary about it --- i wouldn't crave for any of the dishes the way i still crave for the herb rice i had at yoghurt house in sagada.

as i linger over the last few bites of my spring rolls, i noticed the sign at the table. darkness will permeate my core insofar as i let it.


"don't try to go and find Buddha from the spiritual hill. the spiritual hill is inside our heart. everyone has a tower of spiritual hill, so we can train and practice by ourselves."

anak ng tortang talong oo!!! all those intense walking that may potentially give me souvenir bunions and varicose veins were done for nothing?? someone must have been playing a trick on me. if he/she thinks i would have better appreciation of the answer with a full stomach and rested feet...well, he's/she's right!

maybe what i've been searching for is already inside me, untouchable by any force known to mankind. it is one thing i truly own.

maybe the thing about balance is that once you've achieved it, you could still lose it. there really are no guarantees.

you could still falter.

you could still go back to how things were.

and make wrong choices...

that makes us human, right?

but the good thing about balance is that you can always regain it. whether you keep it or lose it is a decision that relies solely on you.

that's the beauty of its design.

and having gone through it once or twice gives me the courage that, when it comes again, i could still find my way out...

heavily bruised but still kicking high!

so bring it on!