hello, kelvin

There's something new in our bedroom. It's a Kelvinator ref, beautiful at 7 cu.ft, manual defrosting (a feature I specifically asked for at Abenson) and has wheels. The old ref we had conked out a couple of months back. It wasn't the condenser that went wrong. Something else that a technician might have managed to checkout & repair if it weren't for a sealed back.

So instead of bothering to tinker with it, I simply had two burly men, for a generous tip, carry it out of the bedroom to make way for kelvin over the weekend.

This invention, would you believe, costs less than my mobile phone at 0% interest rate.

Now since I can't make water turn into ice with my Nokia, I've to rely on kelvin to do that job. This only shows that mobile phone tech still has a long way to go.

Hmm... a ref and a cellphone rolled into one?

"Well, my cellphone can store steaks and chill beer."

"Guess what, honey? I just bought us a truck. Now you don't have to worry of dragging your cellphone to the supermarket."

It can happen, you know. Maybe they'll call it the dino-cellphone-saurus.

* * *

We got dumped with a lot of snow this weekend!

That's my bro in WI.

He emailed me that when I told him that we are getting to feel the onset of summer.

* * *

I invited my family over for a Chinese new year lunch on the 18th. It was good and fun. I'm not posting pics anymore because it just might ruin your diet.

Anyway, we served pasta with meat sauce, my mom's fried lumpia, paella from Mingoys and fruits (pears, apples, pineapple, grapefruits, oranges, melon, grapes and pomelo). I'm not sure what else we had. But I remember well the big smile on the kids' faces when they received their ang pao.

* * *

There is recent discovery that diverts my attention nowadays from the elections and the Kris-James-Hope triangle.

Mabuti na lang. At least this diversion appeals to our intellectual/philosophical taste.

The Movie Trailer Of The Lost Tomb Of Jesus - The top video clips of the week are here

I might be missing out on the AI and the Amazing Race All-Star series. That's alright. But this dokyu I really want to watch. Airs on March 4 on Discovery Channel.

Dark.

Dark brown.

Dark dan brown.

* * *

kids should know that...

The Talpiot Tomb is a tomb discovered in Talpiot, Israel, in 1980 that is alleged to have been the burial place of Jesus. The tomb was discovered by a construction crew. Inside were found ten ossuaries with six bearing the inscriptions of names. The bones contained in the ossuaries were buried in unmarked graves following the discovery. Andrey Feuerverger, professor of statistics and mathematics at the University of Toronto, recently conducted a study addressing the probabilities that will soon be published in a leading statistical journal. Feuerverger multiplied the instances that each name appeared during the tomb's time period with the instances of every other name. He initially found "Jesus Son of Joseph" appeared once out of 190 times, Mariamne appeared once out of 160 times and so on. To be conservative, he next divided the resulting numbers by 25 percent, a statistical standard, and further divided the results by 1,000 to attempt to account for all tombs -- even those that have not been uncovered -- that could have existed in first century Jerusalem. The study concludes that the odds are at least 600 to 1 in favor of the Talpiot Tomb being the Jesus Family Tomb. In other words, the conclusion works 599 times out of 600. (wikipedia)

spontaneity get-togethers

We took my parents to a post-valentine dinner at Mingoys at the ATC last night. It wasn't planned. I just decided to have quality time with my folks.

The other weekend I took them out for a buffet dinner at a Pinoy resto for no reason. Basta lang.

When my dad asked me why I was treating them to an expensive fine dining, I smiled, paused and finally replied, "Oh, I want to try out my new credit card. Tumatanggap naman sila ng Mastercard dun, di ba?"

My dad should know the answer to that. He and his barkada regularly have their monthly get-together lunch there. They start it out by ordering platefuls of oysters to be shot down by light beer.

The real reason for our going to Mingoys is just because.

When you work your ass off, and you get paid well...one more time...I GET PAID WELL...ahhh! Sarraap!...then you deserve to spend a lil.

My mom who has a tummy of a bird ordered a house specialty, lenguas, while my dad had the porterhouse, his fave.

I ate the pepper steak, medium rare, which was absolutely perfect for me, proportion- and tender-wise. My special gurl had what looked like tortang steak because there's an eggplant with sliced tomatoes on top of the steak that's glazed with mozzarella.

And then, from among the many paella variants on the Mingoys menu, she picked the valenciana for everyone. I guess when at a Spanish resto, at least have a paella dish on the table.

We all had soup earlier, except for my mom who was contented with the basketful of complimentary toasted garlic bread. Dad had the garlic soup, an original Transylvania recipe (kidding! baka maniwala kayo ha.), she tried the mushroom soup (why does she always ask for the mushroom soup wherever we go? baka it's her favorite), and I ordered the clam chowder (which could be a meal in itself).

Dessert was tiramisu for her and my mom. When it was served the sliced cake looked like it had bunny ears because of the broas. Dad smoked his ciggy while I finished my cappuccino.

So what do we talk about everytime we dine together (which, I sadly admit, happens very seldom), aside from family updates like who died, or is ill, or is coming home from the US?

Sorts.

Last night my dad shared his thoughts on house renovation when I mentioned that I plan to have one. He's excited about the whole idea. That's my dad - frustrated architect.

My mom, on the other hand, would, from time to time, talk about money...money...money. It's either she's worried about the lack of it or how to spend it.

She doesn't know how much I am earning, although there were attempts to directly get the answer from me, which I promptly warded off with, "Basta, mommy. Don't ask."

Now there's only one woman in the family who knows how much, and that's who my mom would inquire from, for as long as I'm not around.

And she needs to know because she wants to be sure that I can afford to buy plans from her...pension, life and what-nots.

Yes, it pays when she has the right timing. She'll sell me whatever plan she has on hand just when I've come home from work, all tired and tired.

She'd be like nagging me in a nice tone (oxymoronic ata). It's nothing hateful. I'd react with a nod sometimes, obviously a sign that I'm not really attentive to whatever she's explaining. But she'd just go ahead and talk.

Tapos, I'd hear her say all of a sudden, "O, anak, ha? Ito o. Kayang kaya mo yan!"

And then, I'd mechanically reply, "Okay."

Magigising na lang ako when I hear her say, "Yiihii!" And then she'd walk away in a hurry.

So what has she sold me recently?

I have a vague idea, although I remember she said it's semi-annual.

...

I mean...

It's not like she just sold me someone's kidney.

...

Or someone's soul.

...

"Mom?!"

* * *

kids should know that...

Paella is a rice dish, originally from Valencia (Spain) where it is eaten especially on Sundays and during the Falles. The name paella is the word for "frying pan" in Valencian (from Latin patella). The recipe became more elaborate and variable as it spread from its origin in Valencia throughout Spain and other parts of the world. Rabbit and chicken are the key ingredients of Paella Valenciana. Today one can find paellas made from a variety of other ingredients including rabbit, chorizo, langoustines, lobster, and mussels. Paella can be a simple, rustic dish cooked in open air and eaten straight from the pan, or it can be more elaborately prepared and served. When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, they passed on their cuisine to the Filipinos. Filipino Paella contains more seafood ingredients since the Philippines is an archipelago of islands with easy access to seafood. Filipino paella includes the addition of crabs, abalone, soy sauce, atsuete (for the coloring), clams and other sea products. (wikipedia)

tickle my palate...tickle the rest later

I went to Wok Inn in Malate, got stuffed and then went home with a vetsin-induced downer in my head.

Ah, ok. I'll revise what I wrote on the vetsin part because I'm not sure if the cooks in Wok Inn takatak-atak orders with aji.

This was last Wednesday.

When at Wok Inn and with my special gurl, be prepared to let her do the talking. You may choose and point at the raw ingredients behind that glass window display, but if you don't know exactly how the resto will serve it, let her do the talking.

And so that's what I did. I just wanted the chicken. That's it.

My parents were with us that lunch and it was their first Wok Inn time. Neverthess, the moment my father saw the bamboo shells, he got teary-eyed like a new dad, and said, "I'll take that."

Ok, I'll revise the part when he got teary-eyed. He knew what he wanted and how to have it done. Soup, he said. And he was right. It was yummy. Tasted like the sea. Sea that is yummy.

Alright. Go figure.

I must say at this point that Wok Inn is one of my gurl's fave hole-in-the wall restos. Why I was able to try its cuisine, let's give her the last slice of cake for that. She is more of the oriental food type eater although we can trace her roots in Ilocos Norte, land of the fermented shrimp paste.

We didn't order much, just these...

Wok Inn doesn't have its own house tea, which is a bit off when you know it is a chinese resto, and the Chinese drink tea like water. But let me tell you what they offer instead of the house tea.

Kermit's legs, as in, "Ribit," the ancient mating call toads...este goes.

Ahm... pass ako dyan. Even if my mom says they taste like chicken, I'd rather remain ignorant.

But hey, the food was good. One strange discovery though is that the spicy chicken tastes better if you have it as leftover and microwave it at home.

* * *

kids should know that...

In Indonesia the wok is known as a wadjang, as kuali and kawali (small wok) in Malaysia, kawa (big wok) in the Philippines and kadai in India. The main advantage of wok beyond its constructed material is its curved concave shape. The shape produces a small, hot area at the bottom which allows some of the food to be seared by intense heat while using relatively little fuel. The large sloped sides are also make it easier for chefs to employ the tossing cooking technique on solid and thick liquid food with less spillage and a greater margin of safety. Curved sides also allows a person to cook without having to "chase the food around the pan" since bite-sized or finely chopped stir-fry ingredients usually tumble back to the center of the wok when agitated. (wikipeda)