a musing: derivations of a non-conformist idealist

a musing: derivations of a non-conformist idealist

Sunday, October 28, 2007

The Simulators!

There are a bunch of these new heroes around and batches of them come in almost every month. What's so special about them? I hate to brag but maybe learning a few tricks from me would be one {Insert booming almost-maniacal-villain-but-really-a-great-hero laugh track here}.

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Chili's @ Greenhills

Some were in their Halloween-party garb. Teens and their horde abound. Two rich families having dinner together- one family having two sons and the other family having two daughters. Could the parents be talking about pairing off their children to keep their wealths 'intact'?And then there was us, diving into our food. And I kind of agree with the restaurant's tag line.
We enjoyed our meal. We were full afterwards. And the Mucho Mango shake was not bad at all.
Only thing was that it arrived before our main meals. And I thought since it had ice cream, it was a dessert. Apparently not. And the waiter didn't ask me if - slash- I didn't tell the waiter that I wanted the shake after I've had my chicken. Oh well, I put it in the comment card even though I could've been wrong there...
I'll just come back.

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Outback Steakhouse @ C5

As a birthday treat to my dad last October 24, me, my mom, and dad had dinner at Outback Steakhouse along C5. First of all, I think their prices are too high, period. But that's not why we only had water to drink.
We ordered calamari, seafood linguini, and chicken breast in mushrooms and cheese. I specifically told the order-taker that I wanted the mushrooms on the side. But when my chicken arrived and I had already cut some of it into pieces and I had already put some in my mouth, I see the mushroom are still on top of the chicken and in the cheese. I pick off the mushrooms- which was a little difficult to do what with the cheese already melted, then proceeded to eat. But when a customer service lady came by to ask how our dinner was, I told her about my issue. She apologized and told us that she'll give us their signature dessert on the house. First I declined but she was insistent.
The calamari wasn't particularly nice too. Dad had a little bit of an allergic reaction to it and part of his cheeks turned red and mildly itchy. And while mom was twirling some noodles on her fork, she sees it- a piece of clear plastic in the linguini!!! We quickly called the customer service girl again and showed it to her. She just as quickly took the plate and examined the plastic, profusely apologized, said they'll get us a new plate, and scurried back to the kitchen with the half-eaten plate of seafood linguini before I could even take a photograph of the plastic. When she came back, she verified that it was plastic and that it could have probably been from the calamari that was cooked. Aha, I thought so the calamari came in plastic bags and wondered how long had it been in stock already. The customer service girl volunteered to give us a discount card on top of the free dessert. Part of me would've wanted to ask that our meal be free but out of pity for whoever might be charged for the meal or might get sacked, I just took what they offered. Another man who looked like an assistant manager came by and also apologized. We had the linguini wrapped for take-out and just ate the dessert before we paid and left.
The 15% discount didn't make a dent on the bill due to Vat and service charges coming up to 22%.

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Tenderoast @ Megamall Foodcourt

Whenever I would eat at Megamall Foodcourt, I would usually head to one chicken place- Kipp's with its heart-pumping cholesterol-rich chicken servings. And then I discovered World Chicken with their nice combo-meals. And then, very recently, I chanced upon this wonderful find- Tenderoast!Similar in concept to World Chicken, with Tenderoast you can also choose which components you want in your meal: chicken, beef, or pork-whichever style or flavor; pasta or rice; various side dishes...
On its flyer, Tenderoast boasts of "over 1,000 meal creations". And it all comes at a reasonable and affordable price range.
But primarily, I'll come back because the meal I had was yummy and filling!
Branches:
Araneta Ave; Wynsum Ortigas; SM Fairview Annex; SM Southmall; SM Manila; SM MOA; Rustan's Makati Supermarket; Rustan's Taft Supermarket; Rustan's Shangri-la Supermarket; SM Makati Foodcourt; SM Megamall Foodcourt; Glorietta 4 Food Choices

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North Park Kopi Tiam @ Santolan

Midnight. We were hungry. We drove to Santolan near Horseshoe Village and there it was- North Park Kopi Tiam. Except for a couple of tables occupied, the place was all but deserted. It was nearly closing time. So we readily ordered.
Meat, above. Rice, below.
And some calamari.
Plus soup for me- I was still down with a bit of a flu.
So... it was pretty good. Food was filling. It's a restaurant you could bring your parents to. Or if you're craving for something heavy at an unholy hour before 1AM...

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Whether vain set 13

My heart sank when I heard it- the project that I was to lead was pushed back not two weeks but now, two months and it'll kick off in January. My head spun- what am I going to do now? Two months since I rolled off from my previous project and I'm still training new-comers. I'm doing good, pretty good actually, on it, discovering and correcting flaws and I must say I think the trainees do learn a lot from the program and not just because I'm handling it now. But there a lot of things to improve with this program and with the account I'm in right now. And I haven't even been formally introduced as part of the account, just someone on the outskirts lending a hand because I'm available to help. Helping is not the problem. The direction I'm trying to set for myself has just undergone another setback. And will the remaining time (beginning January up to May or June - that's just six months until the start of the evaluation process) I have to prove my capacity to lead and to manage be enough to prove just that? Will I be open to any other opportunity that would give me the kind of work I've been longing and been ready for? I know I'm ready. But will I be given the chance to get it? And what kind of chance is it? Whirrrl.

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Thursday, October 18, 2007

Peri Peri Chicken @ Greenhills

It was ok. Comparable to Kenny Roger's. Here's their menu cover... Here's a panorama shot of the place...
Their "signature" sauces beside their table setting...
An overhead lamp and fan...
Their nacho platter... the tomato-based sauce was flavorful. On the upper-left corner is my chicken noodle soup...
And here's my lemon chicken and garlic rice...
Yeah, just ok.

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Whether vain set 12

Such a tiring week! Going to work early, coming home late, working home, sleeping much later, waking up early again, getting 4 hours of sleep... I'm about to cry... tears of joy. WTF?!?! Beats me- I'm beat and I'm happy about it. I get to do some thinking, some decision-making, and I work hard to complete tasks.

Hmm, interesting, this is the first set wherein all the pictures are taken from my bedroom (well, one is just outside the door of my bedroom)... Means I've been too busy at work to even take a shot of myself there ahwehwehwe

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Sunday, October 14, 2007

Seeing stardust

I had the comic book from way back. Someone borrowed it and apparently lost it. Tsk. I wish I had it back so I could read it again. Nevertheless, the movie version is excellent. Everything was wonderful: the background music, the effects... The movie had action, comedy, suspense, some drama, adventure, and of course the fantasy element to bind them all together.
Robert de Niro and Michelle Pfifer of course gave excellent performances. The newbie (?) actor playing Tristan did very well too.
Claire Danes, on the other hand... I think someone else could have played her character - the falling star- just as well or even better. She does have a heart-melting line when she pours her heart out to Tristan who she thinks can't hear or understand her.
All in all, I suggest you go to your cinemas now and watch this movie. 4 out of 5 stars!

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Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Butter Diner @ Araneta Center

At the heart of Araneta Center lies the old building that used to house Fiesta Carnival. Now, it is home to Shop Wise and along its side are restaurants , one of which is Butter Diner.My second time to eat here, I was excited to re-experience the American Diner-ing experience it touts of.
However, I was both disappointed and not disappointed. The above shy waiters and waitresses bring out food which I quickly understand could be how food really is served in diners along the highways of America. I could be wrong but my plate of chicken wasn't the tastiest I've had.
For its price, my meal wasn't very "filling". There are more reasonably priced chicken plates in other restaurants, plates of chicken that are really tasty. The nacho stack helped wile away the time, though.
And here: boneless ribs.
Oh, well. My feet won't be dragging me to return here anytime soon. Anyway, there are lots more places to eat in at the Araneta Center...

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Whether vain set 11

Why smile? There are a lot of things to not smile about. Life is not fair. Life sucks. Shit happens a lot. And yet, life is just too great the chance to spend it all crying and frowning and grumbling. So while I wonder if my previous sentence is grammatically correct, I have this to say: Yeah, problems abound. And if you're reading this via the internet, it's 100% certain that there are people out there in worse situations, having oh so much worse problems than yours. And it's oh so much better to try to find solutions rather than dwelling on the problems, trying to move forward than staying put to dig up remains, trying to swim away from what potentially could be a whirlpool of negative vibes, a sinkhole out to quickly attach despair onto your soul.
Take it easy. Take care. Live your life happily, responsibly. Within reason, smile and laugh as often as you can.

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Monday, October 01, 2007

Whether vain set 10

And I'm back. Why? Well, if you look at the dates and know how to count, you'll probably find out... Anyway, I know I look thinner but I'm not any less heavy. Still 150 pounds. I have new shirts that are S's. And even my old pants are not as tight. My hair has grown quite long. Whenever I have the urge to have it cut, someone tells me it looks nice. In the collage, I am seen in six different places, the most number of places I am pictured in in any Whether Vain set so far. Just sharing...

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