That's Another Story

It was a muggy, humid night
It was also the birthday of my favorite twins …
Both regal as they graciously age
Both tempered by the fires of life
Both deserving of a nice quiet dinner
In a nice quiet place
Hosted by some nice quiet guys …

We were looking for “classy”
We wanted “intimate”
We were thinking “new”
We definitely had to have “delicious” …

Elberts Steak Room – is so new that it’s really not yet done.
Still a work in progress
Open to a limited extent - 3 tables of 4 seats each

The “room” is a brainchild of Elbert Cuenca – everyones’ friend
And everyones’ Mac geek
We had last seen his culinary flair and design preferences at Restaurant 12 – the shortlived showcase of gastronomic innovation and modern bar design at Greenbelt 2.
Now this …

Hidden on the third floor of a very ordinary looking building
Accessible through a darkish, narrow staircase
One is suddenly confronted by a beautiful red sliding door with a bookshelf view into what looks like a gentleman’s lounge.
The transition from an old, rather drab building facade to this overwhelmingly warm and comfortably upscale “room” is almost JamesBondish …
Experiencing the transition and seeing the wide-eyed awe on the faces of our guests was just the start of a wonderful evening.

Upon entering, one is greeted by a bar that sets the mood for just letting go of the day’s burdens and settling into a quiet dinner

Luxurious wood panels

Meticulously upholstered chairs

Romantically lit

Formally set tables

Crystal wine glasses ...

Not surprisingly – the menu is for the most part, simply steaks …

Each with a house salad, soup, a choice of sidings and a myriad of sauces

Fillet Mignon

grilled USDA select tenderloin, 250 gm.

1,600 pesos

New York Strip

grilled USDA prime striploin, 270 gm.

1,900 pesos

Rib-Eye

grilled USDA prime rib-eye, 330 gm.

2,200 pesos

These are gooooooood steaks.

A bit expensive - but if you are a steak person,

This is steak Valhalla

Take your time

Dine

Wine

Converse

This is steak dining at its best.

Mouthwatering

Delicious

Juicy

Elbert's Steak Room

A place like this is both "rare" and "well done" ...

It makes for a dining experience that you will not easily forget.

It's funny - some of my best memories have been in "rooms" (but then, that's another story)

See ya'

Elbert’s Steak Room

3/F Sagittarius Building III

111 H. V. de la Costa Street

Salcedo Village, Makati City

(63-2) 339-3363

** reservations recommended

www.steakroom.com

Famous Hot Dogs

Nathans Famous has been one of Americas favorite hot dogs since it first surfaced in 1916 . In fact, there is a traditional Nathan's International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York, held at the original Coney Island restaurant. The contest is beamed worldwide on ESPN . The 2007 winner ate an incredible 66 hot dogs (and buns) in 12 minutes.

66 hot dogs in 12 minutes ...
Yikes !

Nathan's Famous hot dogs are available in 365 restaurants and in thousands of groceries, retail stores and other locators in the United States. Originated in the early 1900's by a Polish immigrant named Nathan Handwerker - this renown hot dog is characteristically all beef and deliciousssssssssss.

The other day I was walking leisurely through the Glorietta mall in Makati- when my naturally roving eyes saw a "Nathans Famous" sign at a food kiosk along one of the walking lanes. I approached the kiosk in amazement to get a good look, and asked the server if they were serving "the" Nathans Famous hot dog . He casually said - "yes".

Omigosssh...

Goodbye Sabrett.

Nathan's Famous hot dogs are in town.

Apparently, the "Hot Dog on a Stick" franchise in the Philippines now also includes Nathan's Famous as among the hot dogs it serves in its many outlets. Good for us hot dog fanatics ...

The hot dog is crisp and tasty.

Relish, mustard, mayo, onions and ketchup enhances the taste.

I ordered a "medium frank" - and gleefully smiled as I enjoyed my new found favorite snack.
It took me all of 12 minutes to finish one ...

You should try it.
Practice na
Maybe you will be the next hot dog eating champion

Go

Now

Grab a "Nathan's Famous"

You might even bump into me ...

I will be the guy with a "jumbo" hot dog in his hand :-)

Bleachers

Total warfare has recently been waged in the Philippine blogosphere against a writer who exercised political incorrectness to its extreme. The rabidly emotional reaction from on-line Filipinos of all persuasions was so massive that the blogosphere in and of itself proved to be the dominant force in forcing her resignation from the magazine and newspaper for whom she wrote.

Read: (taken from tingog.com)

1. the original article

2. subsequent "apology" (which made things worse)

Of late, a statement has appeared that is apparently her form of surrender to the pressure exerted by legions of enraged countrymen.

Statement from Malu Fernandez on the OFW Controversy

" I am humbled by the vehement and heated response provoked by my article entitled 'From Boracay to Greece!' which came out in the June 2007 issue of People Asia. To say that this article was not meant to malign, hurt or express prejudice against the OFWs now sounds hollow after reading through all the blogs from Filipinos all over the world. I am deeply apologetic for my insensitivity and the offensive manner in which this article was written, I hear you all and I am properly rebuked. It was truly not my intention to malign hurt or express prejudice against OFWs. As the recent recipient and target of death threats, hate blogs, and deeply personal insults, I now truly understand the insidiousness of discrimination and prejudice disguised as humor. Our society is bound together by human chains of kindness and decency. I have failed to observe this and I am now reaping the consequences of my actions. It is my fervent hope that the lessons that Ive learned are not lost on all those who through anonymous blogs, engaged in bigotry, discrimination, and hatred ( against overweight individuals , for example ) I take full responsibility for my actions and my friends and family have nothing to do with this. To date I have submitted my resignation letters to both the Manila Standard and People Asia, on that note may this matter be laid to rest. "

Many intellectual and emotional stones have been cast.

This unprecedented controversy is hopefully a lesson for all of us in Pinoy blogosphere. There are standards of "correctness' and decency that still apply despite the freedom to express opinion. The writer was clearly insensitive and out-of-touch.

In my mind - I put the matter of her personality to rest.

I refuse to tackle an issue of principle with a personal attack.

There are enough arguments of principle to stand on its own ground.

The points of view brought forward by the issue however are worth pursuing as an educative process for a better understanding of each others perspective. This is a chance for introspection... a chance to avoid the trap of bigotry that emerges when one lives life in a jaded tower detached from the realities that prevail and abound in one's own surrounding.

I have learned much from my view in the bleachers.
I hope we all have.

Enlightenment

I have posted about Baywalk several times on this blog.
It was an area that was so full of life ...
Every day of the week and more so on weekends
This "walk" by the bay took on the character of festivity
People congregated here
Played here
Sang here
Danced here
It was a happy place

Bands, mimes, performers, dancers, stage acts ...
Glitzy lights, people movers, gadget and flower vendors
Alive and jumping - all night long
Those who had less in life found in Baywalk a playground wherein they could vent their frustrations by aggregating ... much like the Pinoy "istambayan" has become a Pinoy social support group for those who suffer from the rigors of a hardened life

Today ...
Baywalk is no more
Quiet
Almost deserted
Killed by the rightist swing of an authoritative pen

Where once - I could walk late at night with little fear
Where once I could mix with people from all walks of life
Where once -the social strata was breached and people were equal and one
Where once was the happy sound of life

Now is an eerie silence
Shadowy figures in the dark
A fearful place to take a stroll at night
A ghost town compared to what it was

Why ?
Politics seldom provides any real answers - only validation of strong willed impracticalities
I guess we will never know
Never perhaps - until we see who benefits most from this precipitate act
Then we will nod with enlightenment - and say " ahhhh - kaya naman pala "

Buhayin ang Manila !!!!
Paano????

Eggscellent

Two eggs and a Dick ...
Now there's a formula for success if I ever heard one.

I HAVE TWO EGGS is a restaurant brainchild of Chef Dick Balajadia who noted that in Europe and the US, eggs are usually served in pairs.
Come to think of it, that is true ...
And in a tapsilog-crazy country like the Philippines , serving two eggs instead of one would seem to me like a logical variant.
As they say ...
Two eggs are better than one



















I Have Two Eggs positions itself as a "tapsilog station" but really serves more than just that.
Their tasty "all time favorites" include...

Marinated Sirloin tapa @150pesos
Sugar Cured Pork Loin @140pesos
Spicy Garlic Filipino Sausage @130pesos
Homemade Corned Beef @150pesos
Cured Boneless Bangus @150pesos
Garlic Chicken Solo @100pesos

Dry rubbed T-bone steak, tanigue, chicken bbq, and home-style porkchop are available "off the grill"

All are served with two eggs from their "egg station" which will cook the eggs the way you like it ...

Sunny side up
Poached
Scrambled
Crunchy
Omelet




The restaurant is an upgrade of a canteen theme with egg holder cartons forming part of the wall and ceiling accent.
Simple
Non-pretentious
Comfortable

I discovered this place on a lazy Sunday afternoon while driving through some old haunts of mine - marveling at how time had changed the neighborhood.
It was really time for a late lunch , but the lure of eggs was too much ...
I instead had my "second" breakfast.

For someone like me who logs frequent mileage in places like Pancake House and Heaven N' Eggs , the breakfast all day option of
I HAVE TWO EGGS is really a magnet ...
Besides - who can beat that name?

I will definitely be back there.

It is worth a return visit ...
In case you are in the area -try it ... drop by.
You might bump into me .
Just look for a guy with "two eggs" .

I Have Two Eggs
Tomas Morato cor. Scout Bayoran
(across Rembrant Hotel)
Quezon City

Like a King

It was a day when nothing went right ...

To begin with,
My car gave up on me and wouldn't start.
My mind was a total zip at the office.
Deadlines were looming.
My staff were not delivering
And to my horror, I was wearing socks that did not match !

I was just waiting for the office day to end.
And when it did ...
I was off the starting block like a bullet.
My liver was aching for wine
My taste buds were searching for good food
And my ego was looking for a lift.

For a stress-eater like me,
It was time for some fine dining ...

Good food, good wine and great service was what I needed
I needed to be pampered
I needed a "feel good" fix

Where?
Somewhere consistent
Somewhere reliable
Somewhere tried and tested ...
















MEZZALUNA was one of the early locators at the Serendra restaurant row. I was an early believer and posted about this resto in its opening quarter. Since then it has gained a steady and loyal following (including myself).

On a day like today - this seemed like a safe choice.

Chef Carlo Miguel the amiable jolly power behind the success of Mezzaluna in Serendra is a few pounds slimmer and has withstood the competition from the many restaurants around his own. This - by being consistent and by keeping his menu interesting.

Tonight was a night for his "Tasting Menu" - a degustacion of sorts.
Small servings of the chef's wonderful cuisine
Paced slowly, as to allow one to fully savor the flavor of the servings.

Lobster and Corn Chowder

Handmade Saffron Linguini with Crab, Tomato, Parsley and a hint of Chili

Sorbet

Grilled Kurobota Pork Belly with White Bean Puree, Confit Brussel Sprouts and Balsamic Marinated Prunes

Char-Grilled Grain-Fed Aged Australian Beef Tenderloin with Truffled Mushroom and Eshallot Tartlet

Lava Centre Florless Chocolate Cake with Praline Ice Cream

Coffee/Tea

(1500 pesos ++)

Topped off with a tasty Australian Chardonnay,

This meal was an exercise in pampering ...

Delicious cuisine

Enjoyed on a finely set table

Bathed in romantic lighting,

With a background of dinner lounge music,

Attended to by knowledgeable and attentive servers

In a chic moderne restaurant

Uhmmmm - I felt like a king

I winked at the group of girls at the next table,

Raised my wine glass in a gesture of toast

And then slowly slid into nothingness when I noticed them giggling as they caught a glimpse of my non-matching socks .

Ohhhh well - you can't win them all.

Mezzaluna

11th Street G/F

Serendra Commercial Complex

Fort Bonifacio, Taguig

(63-2) 8560718 (63-2) 8560697

Mamou - The Sequel

Ok - so what does it take to get a guy to exercise the option of going back to the same restaurant ...
Within a matter of days
With the same girl?

If I wanted to simply impress the girl - I would take her to another restaurant... right?

It makes more sense to the warrior hunter
And it would score more points with the dainty, pretty, cutie "prey"
Errrrr - I mean dainty, pretty, cutie "princess" ....

And yet, there I was
Barely a few days from having just been there
Back again at Mamou ...
For a sequel

Why?
It's the food
It's the people
It's the attention one gets
It's the whole dining experience
It's being "home" ...















It was a Monday - and the place was packed
Word-of-mouth is creating a beeline for this wonderful nook
We were extremely lucky that a corner table had just become available
Seated comfortably in our "dwarf" chairs, we marveled at our luck ...

A carafe of white wine started the evening.
This was followed by "Cracked Cheese with Honey and Fuet" (grana pagano cheese with side of honey and fuet catalunian salami) @ 295pesos.

Salami and cheese -with a honey dip ?
This is what is so much fun with Mamou - it is unpredictable
The culinary concoctions have a sense of simple genius that appeals to the child in me who has sometimes been lost in the complexity of my adult cuisine preferences.

Then came the "Steak" - a 400 gm US prime ribeye with sides of baked mashed potatoes and corn pudding @1680pesos.
It came in cut portions ready for sharing.

Let me just say it straight ...
This is the best steak dish I have had in a long while.
Simply salted and spiced , it drowns in its own juices and oil
With just the right amount of fat that creates its own flavor

As if they had detected the child in me (perhaps through the glow in my eyes and the urgency with which I attacked the steak),
I was offered a dip of mayonnaise.
Yeheyyyyyyyyyyy - mayonnaise ...
How whimsical can dining get?
Such a joy ...

Needless to say - the steak was wiped out

Lastly, we had an imaginative Batac Bolognese (spaghetti with Batac Ilocos sausage, fennel and stewed tomato sauce served al dente) @335pesos.
A fusion of Ilocos and Italiano ...
That which they call "Ilocano"

Tasty and playful - this simple interface of two cultures is at once familiar and comfortable.
I thought it could use more tomatoes and a tad more sauce but the dining experience was really becoming so much fun that I didn't mind anymore - I just savored its flavor and its appeal to my adventurous taste buds.

Now - thaaaaaaat was a meal.
That was dining.
That was good.
That was fun.


Oh oh oh - the girl I was with?
She was great too ....
What was her name?????




























Mamou - a home kitchen
Unit 1C-15
Ground Flr., Serendra
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
(63-2) 8563569
0917-81MAMOU
mamou@info.com.ph

No Contest

Jesus and Satan were having an on-going argument about who was better on the computer. They had been going at it for days, and frankly God was tired of hearing all the bickering.

Finally fed up, God said, "THAT'S IT! I have had enough...

I am going to set up a test that will run for two hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job."

So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.

They moused.

They faxed.

They e-mailed.

They e-mailed with attachments.

They downloaded.

They did spreadsheets!

They wrote reports.

They created labels and cards.

They created charts and graphs.

They did some genealogy reports

They did every job known to man.

Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than hell.

Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went off..

Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld.
Jesus just sighed.

Finally the electricity came back on, and each of them restarted their computers.

Satan started searching frantically, screaming: "It's gone! It's all GONE! "I lost everything when the power went out!"

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past two hours of work.

Satan observed this and became irate...

"Wait!" he screamed. "That's not fair! He cheated! How come he has all his work and I don't have any?"

God just shrugged and said ...

>

>

>

"JESUS SAVES"

Happy Sunday

Home Kitchen

It was a wet, rainy evening .
We were in Serendra Piazza enjoying the cool if not moist breeze
We were walking slowly on purpose,
Looking through every window trying to decide where to have dinner ...
Something new caught my eye.
And we walked over ... just to see















What a pleasant surprise ...
Through the glass we could see our friends Oye and Malou Fores working feverishly behind the kitchen counter of what turned out to be their recent addition to the frenzy of restaurants in the area.


Mamou is a canteen-type mix of ikea-inspired cabinetry, dwarf Pampanga chairs, lightweight wood tables, warehouse lighting and an open galley kitchen. We were seated promptly by friendly staff. Oye and Chef Malou (that's "mamou" to her young niece) joined us for a while and a few stories were exchanged . We had friends at almost every table and the evening turned into some kind of a mini-reunion of long lost friends.

Mamou positions itself as a "home kitchen" (similar to sister-in-law Gaita Fores' famed comfort canteen - Cafe Bola).
The menu interpretation of "home kitchen" gives one a sense of world travel, old family, and heirloom recipes. It's like eating wonderful meals in the "family compound" , prepared with loving attention, using the recipes of my lola "sosing"...
Easy, interesting, likeable, somehow familiar, "eat"able ...



















Our sampling of their "dry run" menu started with - a tasty Palm Spring Rolls served with sweet chili sauce and garlicky vinaigrette @210pesos.

Then we had half of a citrus rubbed Roast Chicken, served with buttered onions, red rice, cinnamon plantains, and black beans @345pesos , and a Crispy Roast Duck with Red Chorizo Rice served with steamed vegetables and chili plum sauce @395pesos.


The dinner was light and tasty.
Comfort food.
Nothing grand.
Nothing pretentious.
Just a good home cooked dinner and a glass of wine
Enjoyed in the company of good friends ...

On a rainy day like today,
It can't get any better than this














































Mamou - a home kitchen
Unit 1-C , G/F, Serendra
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
(63-2) 8563569
0917-81MAMOU
mamou@info.com.ph

Year of the Pig

I am at home ...
Sick
In bed
Chicken soup and a laptop is what today is all about

Time to catch up on tons of e-mail
Sometimes amid the piles of rubbish is an occasional gem
Here's one that kept me laughing till my fever dropped ...
It lists some totally useless and inane facts -
But then again , totally amusing

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

" Did You Know...
If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
(Hardly seems worth it.)

If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
(think I know someone who could make TWO bombs!)

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.
(O.M.G.!)

A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes.
(In my next life, I want to be a pig)

A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death.
(Creepy.)
(I'm still not over the pig.)

The flea can jump 350 times its body length - it's like a human jumping the length of a football field.
(30 minutes... lucky pig. can you imagine??)

The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.
(What could be so tasty on the bottom of the ocean?)

Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
(I still want to be a pig in my next life, or maybe a piglion)

Butterflies taste with their feet.
(Something I always wanted to know.)

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
(Hmmmmmm........in a woman maybe, they can't stop talking -

I know what my strongest muscle is)

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people.
(If you're ambidextrous, do you split the difference?)

Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.
(OK, so that would be a good thing, but why would they want to anyway?)

A cat's urine glows under a black light.
(I wonder who was paid to figure that out?)

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
(I know some people like that.)

Starfish have no brains.
(I know some people like that too.)

Polar bears are left-handed.
(If they switch, they'll live a lot longer.)

Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
(What about that pig??) ...........and I STILL cannot forget about that PIG !! "

Fat Guy

Yoohoo - an iconic barbeque grill , and open air , roadside canteen which served fast, easy Filipino food to masses of office workers, bus and jeepney passengers on the wait, and the inebriated but hungry post barhopping young ones has been a landmark in the Metrowalk,Pasig area for years.
Cheap
Fast
Pinoy comfort food
Drive in -drive out
Walk in - walk out
Simple

Perhaps now recognizing the Makati working class boom, Yoohoo has come to the financial district. Located in the Makati Avenue area - this familiar grillspot is just a stones throw from the neon-lit P.Burgos area (where another outlet with open air food court has also been set up). True to its pedestrian template ... Yoohoo is located near tricycles loading areas and where pedestrian traffic is significant.

Typically spartan with monobloc chairs and a carinderia-esque counter, it serves its popular barbeque and porkchops, along with PinoynaPinoy choices of adobo, Bicol Express, dinuguan, binagoongan, chiliconcarne. Skewers of chicken and pork liempo are grilled on a basic rotisserie.















The place reeks of barbeque smoke which adds to its blue collar character.
25pesos for 1 stick of barbeque
49pesos for a meal of chicken or liempo with rice
180pesos for a whole lechon manok

Not bad at at all
Great meals on the cheap ...
Open 24 hours
I can just see the Makati boys with their flashy cars re-inventing this eatery of the 'hood into another of their post-party stops.

See ya
I will be the fat guy licking the fat off the barbeque stick ...





























Yoohoo Barbeque
Anza cor. Makati Avenue
City of Makati

140 Days To Go

140 days to go till Christmas ...
I can't wait to celebrate the birth of Christ
I am just so thankful to Him for His presence in my life ...
This year as I have often said, has not been the best of times.
I have received much pastoral care.
My Christian family and friends have been the wall of support and the pillars of strength that have seen me through some very difficult patches.
I have called out and He has walked with me ...

I am slowly regathering my senses
Things are slowly moving towards the better
I am rediscovering myself as I continue to discover Him

It was my birthday 3 weeks ago ...
God was with me - in the warmth of the people who attended my small dinner
In the laughter of a family that has gone beyond grief
In the hearts of genuinely concerned friends.

It was a fun night.
I had not laughed so hard for so long ...
He was there.


And in 140 days, I will be there to celebrate the Faith that He has allowed me to learn
To say thank you for a gracious and merciful God who has seen it fit to forgive me - sinful as I am
To jump with joy at the beauty of a new year to face
To sing to the high heavens - the glory of His love.

No gifts for me please
No cash
No cards are necessary
Christmas is not about us
As it is correctly noted ... " Jesus is the reason for the season"
I will be happy enough just to celebrate His day... with prayer.


Happy Sunday.

Look For Me

It was an after office hours meeting with a few friends.
There were some not so important matters to discuss .
We wanted a place that was quiet yet calming after a full days work.
We found it.

What a pleasant surprise
Amorsolo Cafe is a cozy little nook that is the food outlet of the Amorsolo Mansions Apartment Suites complex in Legaspi Village
I had never been there before and really didn't know what to expect

A sliding door from the outside opens into a tidy, quiet, calming corner of zen that is a coffee shop with seating for about 40 people.
"Greaaaaaaaat" ... I said as my eyes started appreciating the soothing play of glass, bricks, wenge wood frames, with soft browns and beiges interrupted by tastefully colorful accessories.

I whipped out my laptop to review a few things.

One of the server staff politely handed me a piece of paper with a "password" on it.

"Free Wi-fi ... that is so cool" ... I thought, as I relaxed in my sofa-like chair

There was much to discuss and a lot of new ground to cover ...
But I felt so comfortable that the minutes just zipped by really fast
After a while , I started feeling hungry ... (gosh, when am I ever not hungry ?)

Menu samples range from "breakfast" Spanish Omelet @175pesos to "starter" Mushroom Cappuccino @80pesos to "light fare" Pancit Canton @190pesos to "main course" Salisbury Steak @230pesos to "from the grill" Seafood Skewers with lemon-butter tarragon sauce @275pesos

I felt like a basic "Pancit Canton"
It arrived well presented with shrimps and strips of egg.

And with chopsticks !!!!

I was to eat this ChinoPinoy staple with chopsticks ....
Interesting - because I was expecting a very pedestrian canteen type of pancit
This place is full of surprises

I had planned a quick and short meeting

But with good food, free wi-fi, and a calming quiet ambiance ...
I stayed for more than 3 hours ....
I declare this my "find of the week"

You guys should try it out too.
Look for me.
Mention my name - Daguldol Tarakatac III
It's ok , they don't know me at all ....

Amorsolo Cafe

@Amorsolo Mansions Apartment Suites

130 Amorsolo cor. Herrera Sts.

Legaspi Village

(63-2) 818-6811-19 local 192

Images

What do you see?
A girl or a jazz player?








Optical illusions are “visually perceived images that at least in common sense terms are deceptive or misleading “

You cannot always believe your eyes
What you see is not always what you think it is
Your mind, your biases, your expectations may lead you to believe that you are seeing something that is actually not what it seems to be

It is very clear.
Science confirms that the eye to mind continuum can play tricks on you.
You can be brought to the fringe of imagination in a manner that has filled literature with the legends or myths of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), the Loch Ness monster, the abominable snowman or Bigfoot …
Have they actually been seen ?
Not really




Okay, so what is my point?

Well, some of my wifey's friends say that last weekend, they saw me in a Makati bar having the time of my life with a pretty young thing seated on my lap in what they describe as a very endearing moment .

I plead innocent.
I maintain that what they think they saw was an illusion.
Shadows in the dark that were given deceptive interpretation by their over-active imagination.
I may not even have been there at all …

It's possible to sometimes think you see a face or something.
And then maybe not ....
So -
Did they see someone?
Did they see a face ?

Or did they see a liar ?

Ready

We recently marked the 1st death anniversary of my father
We had a get-together of about 100 friends and family
We remembered him ...
Honored him
Missed him


At some point we all raised a glass to a toast ...
A "toast to the immortal memory" of a man so well loved
We said that the day marked the crossover of our family from a period of grief into a period of happy memories
A time to move forward.

This - my blog was really started last year as a reaction to the sadness that I felt at his passing.
In a sense, I am writing for him
Hoping that he is somehow able to read these - the many words and stories that I was never able to tell him
Hoping that he is smiling down upon me and is sharing all these experiences with me

I miss Dad terribly
I miss being able to run to him
I miss eating with him
I miss talking to him
I miss listening to him
I miss watching him
I miss just being with him

But perhaps the time is after all, right
Right that I should move forward with him in my heart and in my mind rather than keep dreaming that he might suddenly be physically beside me again
Perhaps he left so that I could precisely learn to be strong enough by myself
Perhaps he felt I was ready
Perhaps he knew there was much for me to do ... alone
Perhaps these difficulties I am going through now are a continuation of his way of strengthening me
Perhaps ...

Perhaps he purposely stays in that little space in my heart to remind me that "it matters not how you die ...
What really matters is how you live."

Among all things, that is what he has taught me best

As I contemplate the inevitability of my own aging
And subsequently of my own mortality
I often close my eyes and in my mind sing a 1960's song that has always brought to mind the wonderful example that my father was to me:

In the morning of my life I shall look to the sunrise.
At a moment in my life when the world is new.
And the blessing I shall ask is that God will grant me,
To be brave and strong and true,
And to fill the world with love my whole life through.

(Chorus)
And to fill the world with love
And to fill the world with love
And to fill the world with love my whole life through

In the noontime of my life I shall look to the sunshine,
At a moment in my life when the sky is blue.
And the blessing I shall ask shall remain unchanging.
To be brave and strong and true,
And to fill the world with love my whole life through

(Chorus)

In the evening of my life I shall look to the sunset,
At a moment in my life when the night is due.
And the question I shall ask only I can answer.
Was I brave and strong and true?
Did I fill the world with love my whole life through

So - in my own life ...

Have I filled the world with love????
I tried ...
I know I have tried ...

My prayer is that I be fulfilled within myself

Convinced that I did my best.

It is after all in finding peace within ones self that one can find the peace that no number of warm and comforting hands can give ....

Live and live well.
At the end of your time ... remember and smile

Drown in happy memories ...
Go to the Light
Sleep tight
And have an eternally happy dream.

I learned that from you Dad

Thank you so much

I love you.