2008 MTV ASIA AWARDS - vote for URBANDUB!

plurk! plurk!

wahahahaha! i succumbed!

in view of copycatting from baddie, and getting bored with twitter, i set up a plurk account. like i need another username-password combo.

is anyone else on my friendlist, aside from baddie, who's on plurk? please let me know. better yet, friend me? (desperado?)

shabby chic food challenge # 1: vanilla affogato

for lack of a better name, i'm calling this the shabby chic challenge. (but i hate it, so i'll probably change it later on. be warned.)

objective: to discover cheaper alternatives to (my) favorite food items, which are usually expensive (i have a spendthrift attitude when it comes to food, and it was the leading cause of my previous ballooning credit card debt problem - but that's another story).

to quote an officemate (who quotes a popular tv ad) - 'sing sarap, pero 'di 'sing mahal.

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affogato: a coffee-based beverage or dessert. "affogato style", which refers to the act of topping a drink or dessert with espresso, may also incorporate caramel sauce or chocolate sauce. - wikipedia

i first encountered this drink at starbucks around 3-4 years ago. the way starbucks made it, it was actually a blended ice drink (either vanilla or chocolate cream) and the espresso shot is added last, creating a beautiful drip pattern down the side of the plastic cup. it's no longer in their regular menu, i think, but the baristas can make it if you place an order. at today's prices, the tall cup probably costs around 130 pesos.

now, even a spendthrift like me will balk at shelling out 130 bucks every visit - i do work for a living, and i don't have a trust fund to fall back on. if i had to spend that much, might as well get a mocha frap.

cheaper alternative # 1: granita (aka ice coffee at 7-11 or mini stop) - i could be wrong, but a 16 oz glass from the convenience store could set you back 30-40 bucks. whatta deal. the coffee experience granita used to cost 50 pesos, about 8 years ago. no idea how much it is now.

cheaper alternative # 2: ice cream and brewed coffee - this is if you want to stick closer to the definition of affogato. i tried it this morning, and it was a pleasant change from the typical brewed coffee we get at mcdonald's or jollibee. an a la carte order of sundae cone + brewed coffee will set you back 45 pesos. if you're having a breakfast meal at the aforementioned fastfood chains, just add 15 bucks for the ice cream.

cheaper alternative # 3: the ultimate cheapskate - get the ice cream cone from mini stop, which was 14 bucks a year ago, and a nescafe 3-in-1 (or san mig 2-in-1) for 6 pesos. better yet, just steal the 3-in-1 from your officemate. prepare the coffee, then dump the cone into it.

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disclaimer: i am not affiliated with any of the brands or restaurants mentioned here. but i wouldn't mind if i got compensated for advertising :D

made of what?

i just finished watching made of honour on my ipod. i was supposed to see it on the big screen with a friend from work, but fate intervened and the girlbonding got busted.

okay, i wasn't expecting too much from the movie. but for some reason i got really kilig afterward. (so maybe someone should provide bad reviews to me for films that i wanted to enjoy. heheheh.) anyway, i just can't help but be sad about my own (lack of) love life. yes, i know it's not the end-all and be-all of my existence. it doesn't define me. i'm quite happy being my own mistress. i'm not mature enough to handle a relationship. the right guy will come along at the right time.

what a load of b.s.

i'm definitely not wishing for a serial one-night stand player like patrick dempsey's character. i don't even wish for someone as good-looking as him (but it wouldn't hurt). actually, i don't know what i really want. but at this age, i feel like i'm losing out on the whole experience. i don't even go out much with other people, just the people who i know well (and there are no prospects there). i mean, how can i follow bo sanchez's advice of going out on friendly dates, when i don't have dates to begin with? *sigh*

yes, i know i sound so bitter; worse, i don't seem to be doing anything about it. so what do i do?

where there's smoke, there's fire

still on a high from last night's school of rock gig. (coincidentally, i loved that movie.)

then i read my pinoy blogosphere mail and got the biggest surprise.

now, i don't have anything new to contribute to what has already been written, so better just read it yourself.

all i can say is, it seems raimund's segue last night may have more meaning than i initially thought it did.

it would be a really brilliant 30th birthday gift. kahit next year na yung u2.

our song plays on

ah, the joy of being without guilt.

for some reason, i decided last night to visit the urbandub yahoo group page. i almost flailed when i found out they were playing at elbi tonight. it's common for the big deal gigs to happen on thursday nights here in elbi, so it's no surprise. still, i was undecided if i was going to make the effort. but i posted my dilemma as my ym status, and a friend of mine from high school buzzed me that she and another friend of ours are watching. yay!

got home at precisely 8pm, and broke all records in wardrobe change because i was meeting my two girlfriends at bean hub (near the up gate). they seemed not to be in any hurry, as the gig was apparently just starting and dub wasn't on yet, so i grabbed a sandwich and a cup of coffee for supper. afterwards we started on our short walk to the venue.

the gig was in between bands when we got to the social garden, and it was just our luck because urbandub came on immediately after. wheee! they played songs from the latest album, under southern lights, and a couple from the previous one, embrace. kevin, another high school classmate whom we saw there, was impressed with the technical quality of urbandub's sound (i was like a proud mother hen when i affirmed his observation). and linlin was excited to find she actually knew one of their songs, evidence, which was on heavy rotation at mtv.

i wasn't really planning to hang around for sandwich, but luckily i did, because i didn't know they were that good live. i was really impressed. i actually had newfound respect for myrene academia, their bassist. and their new guitarist is cute (i forgot his name, i read it somewhere a while ago).

not bad for a thursday night gimik, was it? it's just a pity best buddy mike wasn't able to come, but there'll be other chances.

special mentions:

• urbandub riffing a new tattoo (god i miss that song)
• raimund singing masilungan, then changing the lyrics to the first verses of alapaap. panalo! long live the eraserheads!

do i look like a piggy bank?

because just the other day i've been approached by not one, but two people who for some reason don't have enough money to get home.

http://www.bloggingpinoy.com/?p=138

btw i'm now a member of blogging pinoy, so please check it out.