Celine Dion in Las Vegas!

Pagpasok ko pa lang sa hotel room ko, ito na ang bumulaga sa akin.

OMG!! Andito pala ang aking Alternate Diva (kasi namatay na si Ultimate Diva Whitney Houston). My gash, search agad ng ticket kesehodang mahal yan, kaya ko gasgasin ang aking credit crad for her! Her show started June 4 and will last until September daw, every Tuesday, Wednesday and Sat, Sunday lang. Since Tuesday ako dumating, wala na akong time to make habol for that night’s performance. Tomorrow na lang karirin ang tiket.

Buti na lang at may available pa, pero mej mahal na, pero kebs na lang, pag dumating naman sa PIlipinas si Celine, im sure di lang ganun ang babayaran ko (if ever na pumuta nga sya dun)

Hong daming tao! Puno ang Caesar Palaca’s Colleseum. Hindi pa ako nag dinner kasi katatapos lang ng lecture ko, nagbihis lang ako then went straight to the sho. Sus walang makainan na matino, so popcorn and bottled water na lang na nagkakahalaga ng $9.56. may gash, I miss the Pilipins! At least duon may hotdog at pizza hut sa Araneta!

Bawal ang camera, so sorry na lang. wiz recording available. Sabi shows starts at 7:30 pero 8 PM lumabas ang lola mo. Nag ooff key sya sa first 3 songs nya pero nang ma warm up ang vocal cords, lumalaban na ng birit. At ang ultimate encore nya, titanic theme song with matching raising up sya via raisable stage tapos may nag cascade na water around her habang kinakanta nya ang last chorus. Ay galeng! May waterfalls sa stage! One off the bucket list!

Not loving Vegas

Ito ang tunay na gates of hell. Mainet pa sa Pilipinas.  Parang may hair dryer na nakatutok sa akin habang nasa labas ako at naglalakad. Buti na lang ang lecture ay sa loob din mismo ng hotel na tinutuluyan ko. Wiz ko keri maglakad sa disyerto. Sa lobby rin ng hotel na tinutuluyan ko, ang dami nang mga burdado (mga taong puno ng tattoo ang katawan) at mga mukang hindi naliligo ng ilang buwan. Eww! They don’t look like they wash their hairs. Kadiri talaga. May convention ata ng tattoo at body piercing dito. Ang daming turista, iba-iba ang salita. Maraming white supremacist na akala ata ay di namin naiintindihan ang lenguwahe nila kaya keri lang sila sa pagtuya sa amin. E di gulat lang nila nung nag English kami then switched back to tagalog sabay hagalpakan ng tawa! Nyahahah!

For all its activities, Las Vegas is a sad place for me. Imagine, dito sila nagpuputa to have fun, ibig sabihin masaya na sila na masugal, kumain ng endless buffet, at manuod ng sari-saring palabas (syempre di kasali dito ang sho ni Celine Dion noh!). Ito nga ang gates of hell, gluttony, sloth and envy are all over.

SLEEPY IN SEATTLE

eto ang view from where I am staying. technically, asa basement ako ng bahay ng aking tiyuhin.

hindi umuulan, pero parang nakafull blast aircon sa loob at labas ng bahay , na hindi pwede i OFF.

this shot was taken at 7:30PM.

ang late lumubog ng araw pero ang aga din sumikat.. Summer na kasi, so no rain in Seattle for me (for the week daw)..

anyway, ang gumigising dito sa akin sa umaga ay hindi tilaok ng manok kundi crowing of the crows.

on our first lunch out, pinatira na sa akin ito..

sabi ko hindi ako kakain dito e. leche.. overweight na ako tiyak pag uwi sa Pilipinas.

In transitu

After almost four (4) hours of travel, nakarating din ako ng NArita Airport, kung saan I will ride again another plen to take me across the globe.

So while waiting for my next plen, eat galore muna.

Ayoko naman mag Mcdo in the land of ramens, so hanap ng matinong alternative to burger and fries..

saka ko natangpuan ang TATSU..sa tabi lang ng Mcdonald's

so i ordered these...bakit ba, gutom ako noh..

 porkchop rice

tempura udon

yes, fastfood na yan sa kanila. sa Airport...samantalang sa Manila, fine dining na.

Panic time!!

One month vacaytion??? hindi totoo yan. meron kasi ako naloko na mag sponsor ng aking upuan panghimpapawid kaya ako ay tatawid sa karagatan ng pacifico by june 1.  pero, since ako ay pinaglihi kay curacha, kaliwa't kanan ang deadlines ko plus di pa tapos ang show and tell presentayshen ko. add this to the fact that mag eenrol ako this coming sem for my, ahem, master chef course. buti na lang may napaniwala ako na prof na payagan ako mag absent for one month! at humabol na lang pagdating ko. syempre, me kapalit na reaction paper na yun. Salamat na lamang at may kaibigan ako na magtityaga na i enrol ako sa Unibersidad ng Pila. Kailangan ko ba mag apply ng STFAP? palagay ko qualified naman ako kasi wala naman ako source of income and livelihood.

Crystal Jade Restaurant, BGC

Since may isa kaming friend na napromote to AVP status last February, na pressure sya na manlibre ng dinner na three times na napopostone dahil sa kanya.

So one Thursday night, trek ako sa Bonifacio Global City to try Crystal Jade Restaurant. Syempre dahil galing sa rampage ang byuti ko, lost na ako sa inorder nila na appetizer na ang kwento sa akin ay made from duck.

prawns with salted egg

brocoli with crab meat. ang token vegetable for the night

at kahit na may bird flu, sige laban kami ng three way peking duck...

 first way - duck skin with onion and cucumber wrapped in chinese pancake

 second way --minced duck meat to be wrapped in lettuce leaf

refillable lettuce leaves, free of charge

third way - may bayad na. deep fried duck bones with salt and pepper. deadly!

sayang lang at madali kaming natapos, kasi naman its my fault, kailangan ko pa  rumampa naman sa PICC that night!

Salamat kay Sto. Nino...

Not Boracay

Bago mag Mayo at matapos officially ang summer, sumabit ako sa office outing ng isang kaibigan ko ng may opisina (compared to me na wala).

Ang venue ng outing is somewhere in LAiya, Batangas.

Exclusive only to 75 party goers at a time, with infinity pool and beach front. More than courteous staff, di nga lang pwede magdala ng food pero okay naman ang food selection ng restaurant nila.  Unlimited coffee or tea plus pwede magdala ng chips and softdrinks.

Jumped in the pool ng 2Pm at umahon ako ng 5Pm.

Kinabukasan, 8 am nasa beach na ako at nagpapatangay sa alon then jumped again sa infinity pool from 9am to 11am.

nognog na ko.

Medyo malayo lang ang lugar, mga three hours ang byahe from Q.C. tapos ang dami pang toll fees na dapat bayaran.

Hay nako, bibili na nga lang ako ng bahay na may beachfront para di na ako mag bibiyahe ng malayo at magbabayad ng toll.

Summer na summer

Grabe na talaga ang inet dito sa Metro Manila. Epekto talaga ng global warming. Ordinary days na lang na mag register ng 35 degree centigrade ang aming house thermometer. Konti na lang, may lagnat na lahat ng tao. Since hindi naman ako pwede araw-araw mag beach, at bawal tumalon sa palaisdaan sa likod bahay namin, nagpasadya na lang ako ng infinity pool sa aming terrace sa third floor. Buti na lang kaya ng water pressure na umakyat at di ko kailangan utusan ang mga med na magbuhat ng balde sa hagdan.

SA Wakas, the Musicale

Dahil mayroon na akong friends in the media, i was able to sneek in the press preview ng Sa Wakas, the Musicale. Maganda palang mag attend ng press preview, may food stub pa na kasama sa libreng ticket.  Plus pwede pa kumuha ng pictures while the play is on-going.

Ginamit ng play sa storya ang music ng Sugarfree (na hindi ko kilala) pero epektib na rin as it went well with the story of boy-girl love story/ boy got tired of girl who is busy pursuing her career / boy saw another girl. So teleserye series. With a lot of JLC reference ( na hindi ko marelate syempre)

Mga dating Blue Rep members ang nag produce at nag stage, which is good for their first project outside of Blue Rep. (?) May pag-asa ang teatro ng bansa.

An original OPM rock musicale that will appeal to young theater goers. There was a point na nagkakantahan ang mga nanunuod. Not another rokeoke event plis.

Topper was played by Vic Robinson , ang dating si Juan Tamad, na lumaki na at nagkamalay. While Lexi, his original partner, was played by Caisa Borromeo. Caisa was tentative at first (hindi kaya sanay sa PETA?) but later got her bearings. Love her dresses. hindi ata part ng props. Kyla Rivera as Gabbi. 

Enjoy ako sa Ensemble, lalong lalo na kay formerly Nadia of blue rep's bare a few years ago. Hilarious ang chorus nung kinakanta na ang Telepono. Sayang at di ko nakunan ng picture.

Sablay for me ang Act 1. Siguro dahil hindi ko masundan ang train of presentation nila at sanay ako sa linear presentation of story. But Act 2 was a different at mukang nakuha na nila ang bearing nila.

Kung nakakagawa nga ng movie about indecisions and infidelity, why not a play di ba?

Rub Ribs and BBQ

Minsan kinailangan ko pumunta sa aking labahan sa Pasig City para personal na mag update ng aking laptop para sa database.  Ang aking labahan ay sa East Drive, Kapitolyo Pasig. Marami na palang mga bagong bukas na kainan duon. Natuwa din ako nakita ko na may branch pala duon ang RUB BBQ and Ribs na originally ay taga Quezon City. Sa hirap mag park sa main nila, wiz na ako nakabalik ulit duon.

So before ako umatak sa aking office, gora muna ako to lunch dito. Standing room only habang naghihintay na may mabakante, kasi maliit ang lugar at maraming parukyano. (imagine, asa liblib na lugar na ng Pasig ito). i ordered the ribs with two side dishes, garilc mash potato and grilled corn.

onion rings

Red velvet cheesecake. Luz ito. Wah na orderin. Php150.00 malulungkot ka lang. Okay na sana ang lunch ko, nasilat lang dito.

 Service is very polite and attentive. Apologetic pag di agad na deliver ang order. Laki tuloy ng tip. Pwedeng bumalik.

Chelsea at Podium

Wicheling ako mag sulat in the vernacular ngayon hane, medyo mainit lang ang ulo ko..kaya rant galore muna ako at para maintindihan din ng mga expat na kumakain duon.

Had dinner at Chelsea Restaurant , Podium..

I should have given notice to the dying centerpiece that greeted me when I entered the restaurant as a sign of things to come…

Z wanted to eat crabcakes and I wanted to eat at once since I was already a hungry pig. Since we have already tried the crabcakes at Chelsea, we decided to go back there. When we ordered the crabcakes, the waitress apologized since they were out of stock.  I then ordered the buffalo mozzarella salad, and again, the server apologized since it was also out of stock. Two out of two should have been an indication of the kitchen but, no, we held on and tried to compensate by ordering the grilled JUMBO prawns and the saffron mac and cheese.

This is the alleged JUMBO prawns

Pictures were taken up close. Prawns were not of the JUMBO variety but just the ordinary tiger prawns. Plus, it was rubbery, dried and no flavor whatsoever. Most probably, these prawns were taken out to thaw at the microwave for easy grilling. I tried to  salvage the thing by squishing lemon juice all over but some things are really not salvageable.

 The risotto is horrible. Horrible. Horrible.  

I think the pasta has been sleeping in their pantry for more than a year. Lasang luma, really.

The Saffron Mac and Cheese with chorizo and bacon.

How can things with bacon be so horrid?!

And green peas?? FROZEN GREEN PEAS?  I never tasted a hint of saffron. Maybe just the food color eh?

I gave up. Rather, we gave up.

We just finished the shrimps (for that’s what they really are) to get out money’s worth and asked for the bill. Waited for fifteen minutes only to ask for it again.

Therefore, no tips for tonight. And no return visit ever again. What happened Chelsea?