Cheers for Summer

Name Day, Christening, Dedication, Baptism,  however it's called means people gather to wish that little angel good will and health and beauty and brains. After work for most nights last week, I have been at sister's to mind the celebrant as her mom and pop got busy with the personalized party favors that they plan to give to the sponsors. Brother-in-law's hands was full with filling the vials with "sinamak" while sis was into making the perfect label to go with them.

"Sinamak" is a local condiment that is used for every kind of grilled or fried meat. It was pretty easy to make. But to make the flavor stand out, care should be given in the selection of the ingredient. For this particular event, the vinegar is made of aged fermented "tuba", garlic, ginger and hot peppers. Judging from the aroma, it smells like something that I would have prepared for myself. With sis' canny in the art department, I think the work that was put into it is all worth it.

Sex Tape

...is a movie you wouldn't want to bring your moms to. And I am not going to elaborate on that. What was I thinking to have not thought twice about watching that over the other films that were shown at Robinson's that weekend?!?!

Nanay and myself went to Iloilo to make initials plans with Vangie's family on her impending union with not so little brother. Travel was most pleasurable as the ferry wasn't full and from our port of destination, Vangie fetched us with the family car. The short trip to Mandurriao was uneventful. Their village was located just behind the old airport which is now being developed into a huge commercial complex set to host an international event in a not so distant future. Lunch was filling. I was partial to the "tinolang" free-range chicken and the "liempo". Dessert was Oreo Cheesecake Mimi bought from Bob's that morning.

I don't really think we accomplished anything substantial. More than the planning, our spending some time at their home though was already something. After a rather long lunch, mother was indisposed due to an upset stomach so we left her at the house while I went to see off Tita Jo at the terminal. It has been her custom to spend Saturdays at her hometown in Alimodian.

Oh, we actually visited the reception. Escas is a restaurant ran by Afrique's and so by virtue of transitivity, I like it too having fallen in love with Afrique's pizza and pasta last summer. With a good flower arrangement, the place would be perfect.

The day was yet young but keeping our senior companions' comfort in mind, we elected to do something that has nothing to do with walking: dining and watching a movie. I had ramen at Tokyo Joe's, of which I am very satisfied and to cap the night, Sex Tape.

Rolled in the Deep

The question was: "When was the last time you did something out of the ordinary?" This year's acquaintance party provided me with the opportunity to do something crazy. So as not to appear difficult, I accepted the call to give the opening remarks for the afternoon's activities.

Blue Belles performing Adele

Blue Belles watching somebody perform

Inspired by the benzene ring powerpoint presentation  welcome address in the Chem Congress I attended during summer of last year, I thought of putting a twist on my delivery as well. Since I am to open a Talent Exposition, what is better than the staff showing what they can do. And so the idea of us forming a band came to be. Since Kz needed a lot of coaxing to join the group, we had only two sessions of practice: once at the server room on a slow afternoon and once at my crib after a rather lengthy movie marathon. In other words, practice was absolutely taken for granted. Despite that, the show did go on and it was as expected. We literally rolled in the deep just like the song that we performed: Rolling in the Deep by Adele.

Lucy

All week, I have been busy about everything that has something to do with Scarlett Johansson. Thanks to my house maker who is a fan. He made sure that we girls get acquainted.

Lucy premiered last week and the social media was already rife with comments that may cloud or spoil my viewing so after getting our chores done, Charmaine, Khey-Zee and myself caught the last full show. This time, we all sat together and shared a bucket of popcorn.

I don't know about my company but I had a feeling of deja vu watching it. It was like watching Cosmos to the point of looking out for de Grasse. How it ended was disappointing though? It's redeeming factors for me were how Scarlett did so well and the predator-prey analogy in the beginning.

I literally fell off my seat laughing sensing how Lucy will end up. A flashdrive???

But to each his own. And to quote someone with a difference in opinion on the matter, "To be a flashdrive is as cool as it can be."

And I was the only one laughing so hard.

Wara-Wara

After a usual lengthy battle with boredom at the payment queue, lunch was that something to look forward to. It was Diana's birthday and we agreed to meet at noon together with her mum-friends from Taytung. Since the restaurant has not been set yet, we went to Robinson's to check out what's good. We all agreed to go Korean.

Apart from our small group of five (excluding Ethan who skipped school due fever), only two other tables were occupied. As noon ripened into mid-afternoon, the restaurant cleared with us trying to finish everything that we got from the buffet table; and it was a lot. A lot meant needing three cups of tea for everything to get settled without making a mess. I must have eaten enough for two days.

Rabies Free

I have been remiss of my responsibility as a mom to my furry sons and daughters. The young ones missed their vaccination last year which might have been the cause of Momo's persistent danders which no herbal bath could seem to cure. The older ones look to be faring well but definitely needed to be safe for both other people and our sakes.

Before time and resources ran out, we finally had the chance today to get them rabies shots. Getting them to the vet (eight of them) obviously wasn't the most practical thing to do, especially with my unruly giant that is Limbo. So for an additional P20 for each head, we called for a home service which was a wise decision. It took Gerson (brother-in-law) to hold him immobile and me holding his head for distraction so that the city agriculturist can do his thing.