[five years, 10 months, on to forever!] 10th at Zoricho

Last Saturday, 27 August 2011, Gus and I decided to celebrate our 10th month of being officially together by crossing out a restaurant name from our "list". He was deciding between Lugang Cafe in Greenhills, and Zoricho in Silver City. After minutes of discussing and choosing, we decided to give Zoricho a try.

Zoricho is a small, cozy restaurant located beside Starbucks in Silver City. They mostly offer Filipino food with a twist, while their specialty is sausage, or in Filipino, longganiza.

We had a difficult time finding a parking slot in the covered parking area. We didn't want to park in any of the open lots because it was raining really hard that night. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, we finally found a spot and parked. Upon arriving at the restaurant, we noticed how cozy the look and feel of it was. It seemed like the perfect Sunday brunch place for families.

on thin lines and thick lines: eyeliners

I'm no make-up fan. I don't love make-up but I do like fixing myself up. Since the day I noticed how bad my eyes look, especially my eyebags, I started paying attention to how they look. Concealer became my best friend. It wasn't until a couple of years later that I stumbled upon these eye-popping coloring materials they call eyeliner. They help divert the attention away from my under eye are, which I would really want to happen, especially when I wear my contacts.

Over the years, I've tried different kinds of eyeliner. The pencil liner, the liquid liner, colored liner. Then I discovered more like the automatic, no sharpening needed cream liner, the pencil cream liner, automatic liquid liner, and most recently, the pen type liner. When I was first trying out eyeliners, the most common problem I encountered was the smudging.

I rarely had air-conditioned classrooms back in college and most of my org activities involved me running around campus. No matter how made up I was, I almost always ended up looking like an emo zombie because of the smudged, black eyeliner under my eyes. I didn't know much about eyeliners back then so my only solution was to make sure I wipe away at the slightest hint of smudging, usually after running or sweating during hot, summer days.

Sik Gaek: Gourmet

After weeks of trying to finish a drama that caught my attention because of its uncommon theme, I finally finished it an hour ago! Whee! First, a few details.

CAUTION: May contain spoilers.

Title: 식객 Sik-gaek, Gourmet (on Philippine television), Shi Ke 食客 (Chinese working title)

Episodes: 24

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Cast:

Kim Rae Won 김래원

Nam Sang Mi 남상미

Kim So Yun 김소연

Kwon Oh Joong 권오중

Synopsis:

An aspiring chef who uses not only his brains and skills in cooking, but his heart.

***

on impromptu dates: Yam Cha Seafoods and Dumpling Restaurant

Last Saturday, Gus and I were able to meet up despite our busy schedule. I stopped by Tiendesitas to check out the pair of shoes I've been eyeing on for months, then decided to wait for momma in Starbucks while reading the book I've been trying to finish. An hour later, Gus called to ask where I was because he couldn't find me at home. 20 minutes later, we were already talking about our day.

Since he hasn't eaten a decent meal the whole day, we decided to look around for a place to eat. It was already past midnight so our choices were limited. We checked out Tiendesitas but he didn't feel like eating there. It was too crowded and noisy and I think they were closing, since most of the food stalls were already closed. I gave him a list of areas we could check out. He decided to visit Home Depot first but there was nothing he could find there. We decided to eat at the Korean complex behind UA&P since they were open until 2 am and Gus wanted to try the duck ramen I told him about, but when we arrived there, only the fancy Korean restaurants were left open. The simple, carinderia-style stalls, where the duck ramen I told him about could be found, were already closed. Since we were already in the Ortigas area, we decided to head to Banchetto instead. Unfortunately, there was no Banchetto that night. After going around other places, Emepror's Tea House in Wilson, restaurants around the Scout area, Lugawan Republic and Dampa in Timog, we decided to eat at Yam Cha, which was only a couple of restaurants away from Lugawan and Dampa.

When we arrived at Yam Cha, we looked at the menu first, just to see if there was anything that would interest us. After flipping through their menu a couple of times, something caught his attention, and he asked if it was okay if we ate there. Thus, another foodiementary began!

P.S. Forgive the pictures. We were really hungry, we forgot to take pictures of the food when it arrived. >.<

Gus was able to decide what to get immediately. He ordered Peking Duck Noodles, while I, as always, had a more difficult time choosing so I told him to order his first. When the waiter came back with his noodles, I ordered a bowl of Yang Chow fried rice, Kikiam, Spareribs in Tausi, and Spring Rolls.

Peking Duck Noodles 

(P150)

welcome aboard!

Rawr.

Welcome to my new and improved blog! It's been about two weeks since I chose this design. As you can see, I chose a header that suits my blog's name and URL better. The blog's theme was based upon the final picture I chose for the header. Since the day I created this blog, I never really talked about why my blog had that title, or why my URL was the way it was. I guess I was too busy with my emotions and my social life that I never got to share the most basic and obvious of things: Why my blog is the way it is. Was.

Looking back, my blog was first entitled: "when pigs & penguins learn to fly" The history behind this blog title revolved around one guy I really loved back then. I love penguins and grew to love pigs as well. They're are just so adorable! The pigs part was our thing. That was the first stuffed gift I got from him. A big, fat, pink pig we named Barbeque. Penguins, I just naturally love because, in spite of their supposed lower level of intelligence compared to us humans, penguins know how to be faithful. They're loyal creatures who stick to their one mate until the end. I guess those two just found a permanent home in my heart. :) 

So why learn to fly? Here comes the cheesy part. After things fell apart, I was a bit of a mess. The break-up was really tough on me. Every time I try to remember how I was three years ago, I always end up being thankful for having my real friends by my side at that time, to help me cope. Even if it means putting their own lives on hold for the night, for me. The studious girl, the boyfriend, the future lawyer. Yup. Diane putting her academics aside for one night, Greg agreeing to come with even if it posed possible issues with his then- girlfriend, and Mikee, even if he could've spent his night partying with his boys. That was how hard the break-up was. I constantly needed a distraction. To keep me from thinking about what I was going through. And for us college students, it meant a night of drinking the blues away. I thought of myself as a mother to my pig and penguin babies. I wanted to learn how to fly away from where I was, to learn how to move on. I know pigs don't fly, and penguins can't fly, and right there and then, that was how I was. I don't, I can't, fly.

"when pigs & penguins learn how to fly" was actually a phrase I used to remind me of where I wanted to be then. I wanted to be in a place where both pigs and penguins can fly, where my heart wasn't broken, where I wasn't crying all night.

The second one, "when pigs & penguins fly", was put into use when, you guessed it, I was able to get up and start over. All issues have been resolved and I was able to mend my friendship with this person again. On to more drama, random musings, and rants about life, love, and everything under the sun.

Then again, those two blog titles didn't really explain or even relate to my blog's URL, penggorasbox. And the next big question is.. "Why is it called penggorasbox?"

My blog's URL was actually coined by my dear friend, Isa. Check her blog here! I was talking to her one bright, sunny day, thinking about possible URLs for this new blog I plan to set-up, and voila! Out came penggorasbox from her cute, pouting lips!

I don't really remember her explanation for choosing penggorasbox. I think it was because of my love for penguins. But for me, penggorasbox stands not only for my love of penguins, but also in relation to Pandora's Box -- the Greek artifact that contained all the evils of the world. 

Penguin + Pandora + Box

=

http://penggorasbox.blogspot.com

Just like the box that contained all the different evils of the world, my blog also contains, if not enough/yet, will also contain, a whole lot of different topics, waiting to see the world! In this case, people who will get to read my entries. From love to life, reviews and recipes, to random musings and rants from anything and everything under the sun. This is still my personal blog so expect a little bit of me in it too, from time to time. ;)

Welcome aboard, Penggora's Box! ^@^

Photos courtesy of http://fyeahpenguins.tumblr.com and http://askjeeves.com

on first dates: Teriyaki Boy

Gus, my best/boyfriend, asked me out yesterday. I know we've been going out for quite some time but he hasn't REALLY asked me out in a while. Yes, we'd go out. Have a beer or two, or maybe a cup of coffee somewhere but it's been a while since he really, formally, asked me the question.

He let me pick which restaurant I'd like to have dinner in but due to unforeseen and unexpected circumstances, I couldn't decide. I had a bit of a tummy trouble earlier and it made it difficult for me to decide or even think about what type of food, or at least, cuisine, I'd like for the night. We began our search in Eastwood, checking out this Korean restaurant on the 2nd floor. They seem to have good food priced reasonably but if I were to eat Korean that day, I'd like to eat authentic Korean food. We weren't sure if they served authentic Korean dishes and I didn't want to waste any time or resource figuring out if they did. We (or maybe it was more of, I) considered McDonald's (because I was really craving for their ice-cold coke) and thought about having burgers but I originally had not considered having any unhealthy meal because of my upset stomach. The smell of the grilled meat was just so enticing, we left before I couldn't resist.

We looked at the menu of CCA on the way down. I had a certain craving for their Devil's Food Cake at that time too. I felt uncomfortable and had too many tastes that day, we both didn't know where to eat. We eventually decided to go elsewhere, looking at the different restaurants located in the Cubao area (Ali Mall, SM, Araneta Center, Shopwise, and Gateway.) Still no restaurant to satisfy our hunger.

We decided to head home and pick a restaurant somewhere there since it was getting a bit late too, and the rush hour had already started. We ended up in SM North (as always) and Gus brought me to two different Japanese restaurants so I could check their menu to see if they had anything I liked.The first one was Tokyo Cafe but the first thing I saw was their fried dishes (karaage, tonkatsu) and I immediately said no. I really didn't feel like eating anything fried yesterday. He brought me to Kimono Ken next but I didn't find anything interesting in their menu except for their kani salad, which I thought was too overpriced. I remembered another Japanese resto in the other end of the building and asked him if we could check that one out. Sakae Sushi, located on the ground floor of the annex building, is a sushi conveyor type of Japanese resto. It was interesting at first but when I looked at their menu, they didn't have any kani salad, which was what I really wanted. In the end, we decided to go to a more familiar place: Teriyaki Boy.

I ordered my kani salad, which had a generous topping of Japanese mayo, and a cup of yakimeshi rice, which I called kamameshi, thinking about a totally different Japanese resto. Gus ordered a pork dish, sauteed in a ginger-base sauce because the Asupara Bacon Maki was unavailable at that time.

My kani salad

(look at the generous topping of japmayo!)

nearly three years behind

I should've written this a long time ago.

Back in 2008, December 30 to be exact, I almost died. It was a time when I wasn't living at home. I was staying over a friend's house and I guess, their carpet fibers triggered my dormant asthma. Their family was busy making preparations for New Year's Eve that I felt uncomfortable bothering them with the attack. I got into my car and decided to head to the hospital.

While I was driving though, I felt something different. Whenever I had asthma attacks before, it never came to the point wherein I felt my air passage literally being blocked. I got scared because I've never felt that way before with any of my asthma attacks. I usually just had difficulty in breathing, and wheezing but not to the point that I felt something blocking my throat/esophagus/tunnel where-air-comes-from. I was breathing through my nose but I still had difficulty breathing. I called my good friend Isa, who lived near where I was. I asked her if she could meet me and accompany me to the hospital, just in case I couldn't drive anymore. Yes, that was how scared I felt. We rushed into the ER of a hospital in Ortigas, and asked the security if I could just park in front of the ER because of my condition. Thank God for his kindness, he just asked me not to block the ER's entrance.

I brought out my health card (since it was the only thing I had, no cash then) and asked the nurse if they accepted health cards (I just assumed they did since it was a private hospital.) The nurse asked me to fill up a form and wait. After submitting my form, another nurse transferred me into a wheelchair and brought me in the ER proper.

That's where I almost died. 

A doctor interviewed me and asked what medicine I usually use for my attacks. I told her I had always used Ventolin. She asked if it was okay if they used a different Salbutamol solution. I said it was okay. As long as it was for asthma attacks, the brand didn't matter. After the interview, I waited for the nebulizer. I felt my air passage being blocked more and more. The block was rising every couple of minutes or so. An hour had passed, still no nebulizer. *For those of you who don't know, a nebulizer is like a little machine that releases oxygen. Only, it releases evaporated medicine, not oxygen. This smoke is then inhaled by the patient to relieve him or her of difficulty in breathing.

Isa was holding my hand, checking up on me every so often, asking if I could still handle it. With every question, I answered with okay. I could still manage to breathe somehow, it was my worry that when my air passage completely closes, I wouldn't know what to do, where to breathe. Time passed by again and I could feel my air passage completely closing. I was just praying then and hoping for a nurse, a doctor, to bring the nebulizer. Isa had already asked a nurse again, followed up on my nebulizer, to which the nurse told her to wait for a moment. Two hours had passed and I couldn't control myself any longer. Isa saw how pale I looked already and I pinched her, telling her I couldn't handle it any longer. Yes, the nebulizer still wasn't with us. Sas had followed up with nurses, doctors, anyone who passed by us, and the machine still wasn't there. After telling her how I couldn't feel any air coming from my throat anymore, she stood up and blocked a doctor who was walking our way and demanded that she bring the nebulizer right now. She "scolded" the doctor, telling her about my condition, and how she had asked different nurses and doctors already for the nebulizer in the last two hours, and that no one has bothered to bring it and check up on me. I've never seen Isa explode that way before but I was thankful. I couldn't get any air out of my mouth anymore and I was feeling weak. Just minutes after, a male nurse brought a nebulizer and attended to me. I WAS SO THANKFUL. I thought I was going to die that day, in that sad situation. 

After the treatment, I was so thankful that I could breathe again. That I could inhale and exhale freely again. But at the same time, I felt like a bomb ready to explode. What the hell were the nurses and doctors thinking? Attending to? The ER was quiet that night, no major emergency whatsoever and it took them TWO freaking hours to get me a nebulizer! What were they waiting for? For me to collapse from lack of oxygen?! I am thankful for their nebulizer but I am in no way, trusting them again with my life. Before I do again, they better review their ER SOPs. I am not putting my life on their hands again with that kind of service.

Fast forward to three years from then, why am I writing about this just now? I had already expressed my deep regret in choosing that hospital that fateful night to my closest friends after the Christmas break of 2008. But a recent event involving that same hospital, which cost the life of one of my dearest friends beloved, urged me to share my own experience. Three years may have passed but hearing about their lapse in judgement, their failure to adhere to SOPs (or maybe lack thereof) AGAIN, leading to the demise of someone I know, just bugged me into writing and sharing with everyone what happened to me because of the same thing. This is meant to inform people of how their service is, to hopefully reach their administrator so he/she can make changes about the way the hospital is run.

My friend's boyfriend died because the so-called doctors of The Medical City failed to give him the proper treatment. What was supposed to be a simple muscle tear turned into a tragic death because they did not know what they were doing. They misdiagnosed, giving different diagnoses, different treatments, until it was too late. One wrong medication, and his organs began to fail. From muscle tear to sepsis. Can you believe how a muscle tear cost someone their life? How one wrong prescription ended everything not just for him, but for his family, and my friend? And there were FIVE doctors, no, SPECIALISTS, SUPPOSEDLY diagnosing and treating my friend's boyfriend. Now, they are hiding everything behind paperwork. Words they told my friend and her boyfriend's family are suddenly hearsay. The paperwork says other things, things they did NOT say at all. OWN UP TO YOUR MISTAKES. A hospital is not a playing field. You can't just go out there and experiment with people's lives.

I am no doctor but I do know that doctors are trained for years to make sure they do the right thing, leading to the right decision, hopefully, saving a life. Just like an architect, an engineer, a lawyer, there are basic routines, check lists, TTDs that are taught to them. The basics of any job. They study about it so they know what they must do when they are faced with the same or similar situation. There is no room for carelessness because they are dealing with lives. Next time, I hope they don't forget to go back to the basics.

lemons from life

"Kayo ha. Huwag kayong mag-aaway."

With a tight grip on both our hands, this was the first thing a very good friend, Honey, told Gus and I when we visited her boyfriend, Sean's (Gus's Xavier batchmate), wake last night. 

Honey is a very good friend and confidant. We've seen and heard each other's struggles in life, in love, in org work back in college. I've seen her at her happiest, and of course, her saddest. Just a few months back, I finally saw the happy Honey I knew. With a twinkle in her eye, a very big smile, I knew that she was finally back. All because of one person I only had a brief hi/hello with -- Sean. 

But just like that, like a cruel twist of fate, Honey lost it. Sean suffered from complications from a muscle tear two weeks ago and never recovered. 

I know it's too late but I wish I got to know more about, got to know, Sean. I believe he was a very good person. He loved Honey very much and he made her happy. Those are definitely a few traits of a person worth knowing: if he loves and takes care of one of your really good friends. To Sean, thank you for loving and taking care of Honey. I know you will continue to love and watch over her from up above. Give her strength to go through this. I know you will always be with her.

Honey, be strong. We know you're one strong woman and in case you feel like just giving up, your friends will always be there for you. We will always be here for you. 

Life is too short to spend most of your time fighting, disagreeing, hurting people you love. Don't let life convince you it really is before realizing how blessed you still are for having the people you love still in your life right now.