I don’t like making plans on days near my birthday.

Aside from being crippling-ly anti-social and misanthropic, I have realized that my birthday occurs around typhoon seasons. Generally, my birthday comes bearing gifts of Hours Of No Electricity. I’ve learned not to expect much from my birthdays, but I think this last one was pretty good. :)

Sarie took me out to lunch at a great place in Salcedo Village called RELISH at Ponte. It’s a lovely little place, tucked in a corner spot of a pretty nondescript building.

We started off with Gourmet Tomato Pesto Cheese Spread (Php 195) which has quite frankly turned into one of my favorite things to stuff in my mouth. It consists of a slightly sweet cheese spread, a tomato concoction, slathered with pesto on top. It comes with toast! You spread it on top, and it looks like this:

We also had the Amazing Artichoke Dip with Tostitos (Php 325) which was pretty good. The flavor is lighter than the pesto appetizer. I preferred the pesto appetizer, which was richer and more flavorful. Because I am a glutton.

We shared an order of Chorizo Pasta (Php 345), which Sarie had been raving about forever. It was good; just how I liked my pasta—sauce bursting with flavor and non-mushy noodles. I tend to stick to non-cream sauces, but this one was just right. Relish didn’t skimp on the filling sauce, either. There was a lot of chorizo left after we’d finished off the noodles.

For our main course (… LOL), we each had an order of the Chimichuri Chicken Kebabs (Php 375), and ugh, my mouth is watering at the thought of it. This was just a really good dish and was a joy to eat. You know how you there are dishes you have to eat every once in a while, even traveling to far-off cities (i.e. Makati), just because it’s that good? I just put this on that list. You can select a side dish: side salad, herb mushroom rice, or roasted garlic mashed potatoes. I went with the rice, and my mouth has been thanking me ever since.

We had the Relish Lemonade with Mint (Php 90/110) to drink. It was cool and refreshing, and it came in a tall glass, which I love for no discernible reason other than it excites me.

And then I got Nespresso (!) and were given free butter rum cake because it was my birthday.

Operating Hours:
Monday – Friday: 11:00 AM– 10:00 PM
Saturday : 11:00AM – 3:00PM / 6:00PM – 10:00PM

Relish at Ponte
G/F Ponte Salcedo Bldg
120 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati
Tel. No. 519-3543 / 0999-7938888

Aside from a great lunch from one of my favorite people, I had a Juno rewatch, which I still loved, thank you very much. I also got and X-Acto knife (because I lost mine, cry), and a Maped knife, which is compatible with X-Acto blades. :)

My lovely, lovely best friend also wrote me this lovely, lovely letter, which I think you should all read because she makes me appear way better than I am. HEH.

All in all, I think a pretty good birthday! Undergoing some minor problems, though, so I’d appreciate it if you’d all spare a good thought or a prayer for me.

Here comes October, and the rest of my life, I guess! I can’t wait. :)

I’m not very good at social situations in general. I’m the kind of person who likes staying in to read and have movie marathons. I prefer dinner dates and stories shared over coffee to nights of dancing. I don’t know why, but these things never really felt comfortable to me. Which is probably why I really like going to gigs. You can show up, stand around, and listen to music without having to worry about small talk or withering looks of judgment (mostly because they usually happen in poorly-lit bars, har har).

Sometimes, though, I like having people to talk to and say “hello” to. I like being there for a reason, which in this case, was to support the musical efforts of a friend. Sometimes, it’s nice to have your silences punctuated with laughter, and music, and synchronized singing.

Sometimes, there are fireworks, too.

Quick post to announce the winners of the Chabon giveaway! Congratulations to Diane Cortes and Angeline Arcenas. I’ll be mailing said books off on Friday. Another contest is currently going on, so join while it’s still up! Click to join the contest here.

As of yesterday, I’ve imposed a strict 30-hour workweek on myself, effective next week. The reason for this is because I’m a horrible, lazy person. I found a pretty effective spot for productivity. I know this to be true because I’ve been up here since four this afternoon, and save for a quick bite of dinner, I’ve been crossing off things on my to-do list. It’s been eight hours.

I would give myself a pat on the back, but I have this unspoken resolution for myself to be less annoying. So, I won’t.

I can’t wait to fix this workspace up and post photos. It’s totally Person 2.0 of me, but I don’t care. I’ve sort of embraced it. I think I’m more Person 1.0 now than I used to be, though. I should tag this post as #Progress2k11, huh?

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I get so excited and I’ve got nothing to regret
It sure beats sitting, I know I’m stuck inside watching television
Cold coffee and stale cigarettes

— “Another Sunny Afternoon” by Nickel Eye

I like laid-back days. The last time I saw Sarie, we were scrambling all over the place, from her mom’s Sinangag place (for a tasting!) to the Book Fair. I like calm, quiet drives and afternoons. After lunch today, we talked about Plans For The Future (AKA our respective portfolio plans), and then we dropped by Christina Quisumbing Ramilo’s exhibit, Book of Days, at Blanc Peninsula.

It was my first time at Blanc, and I quite loved the space and the huge windows. Late afternoon probably wasn’t the best time to go there to photograph the pieces, but I still loved all of them. I’m a huge fan of Ling Quisumbing and it was just such a joy to see her take apart and build on the idea and the structure of sandpaper and books.

I loved these pieces, where she took deconstructed sandpaper and layered them on top of each other, sewing them together to look like books propped open. Her works are just so rich in texture and perspective. Accompanying these pieces are sculptures, as well as a panel painted to look like used sandpaper.

Then we played with shadows.

Steaky Camouflage! I love this shirt thing from Bleach Catastrophe. It makes me feel like I’m wearing a cape. Not advisable when wearing a backpack, though. On my way out of an MRT station, I pulled my Baggu backpack on, and my shirt flew up and exposed Steaky, for all to see. It took me a while to pull it down, too, on account of the fact that I’m really clumsy.

This is the only pair of jeans I’ve been wearing for the past year. I inherited them from my brother who gave them to me because he thought they made him look like a Jonas brother. Then, these are the size 6 ½ Keds that I insisted on buying, and are currently one of my favorite pairs of shoes. They still fit me well (I’m a size 7 ½-8), thank goodness. They’re Navy eyelet with brass grommets and rope laces. I mean, c’mon! How can you say ‘no’ to that?

Are these really rubber trees? So pretty.

We were supposed to go to SOM’s, but we found that the Ayala Triangle Gardens was right across. Sarie was craving for chicken rice, so we opted for Wee Nam Kee, which was alright by me!

Probably should have gotten the steamed version, but I’m a sucker for roast chicken skin. Anyway, sweet soy + ginger + chicken rice = me, in food heaven. I was also thinking of getting the cereal prawns, but I remembered that I was on some kind of diet, so I restrained myself. It was still quite good, though.

We drove to Burgos Circle to get some Bar Dolci for me, after dinner, as I feel kind of incomplete without dessert. Then the quiet afternoon turned into a quiet night, as we turned phrases and asked questions and learned about the world. I like knowing that there are people in this world that I can talk to about anything. It makes me feel like a million dollars.

Book of Days is up in Blanc Peninsula until October 1, 2011. Here’s a map:

A few more photos of the exhibit under the cut!

This is Steaky, as dubbed by Therese after I failed to conceal Steaky after a particularly filling dinner of… well, steak. Steaky is the culmination of several months of gorging myself on amazing food. In the last few months, I have discovered my inner, hidden love for food. I used to just eat enough to quiet my belly rumbles, or eat a snack to satisfy a craving. That’s not the case anymore.

Some food highlights from the past few weeks:

There was Isa‘s birthday treat for me and Barby at Angel’s Kitchen, where I met this little number:

Lamb curry with apple chutney! We also had two more dishes, a salad, and two different desserts. I’ll leave those to your imagination.

Then there was the week I went to Ganso-Shabuway with Sarie (who wrote about it in detail over here). Twice. In one week. Honestly, I’m a peanut sauce person. So, I blame it on that. And the wonderful beef. But mostly, I need that peanut sauce. In my mouth. Now.

(The peanut sauce is way better when mixed with the raw garlic paste thing and the chili oil.)

Did I mention the unlimited rice and strictly no-sharing rule at this establishment? I highly recommend this place, though. I would get a regular order of angus meat, with spicy broth, and the regular vegetable set, with an order of plain rice. Or, you could bypass the rice but then I might consider you a tiny bit crazy.

And who could forget that eight-”course” meal (for two!) with Sarie at Nomama Artisanal Ramen, a new Japanese place up in the Scout area (the corner of Scout Castor and Scout Tuazon)? Right after an early lunch at Ganso-Shabuway, we split eight dishes between us for early dinner at around 3pm, and I have a total of zero regrets. This is a photo of the house ramen. Aside from a super broth, that egg is just an amazing explosion of flavor.

Soft-shell crab salad, and beef tataki with sweet potato chips in the background.

My favorite! Curry short ribs with roasted kobacha (Japanese pumpkin). The curry is homemade and the meat is tender and falls right off the bone. Ugh. I need to have this again at some point in my life, honestly.

I’ve discovered my love for food, and I’ve also found that I cannot seem to unlove it. And that eating actually comes with extra poundage. I’ll be upfront with you: I gained about 10 lbs. after I threw all caution to the wind and ignored the ominous extra stretch and tightness around the waistband of my jeans.

As much as I like (pretending to enjoy) having Steaky around, I feel like it’s time to say goodbye. Seriously, I need to cut back on the munching. I’ve actually taken to tracking my calories using an iPhone app—but of course—called My Fitness Pal! And it’s working out pretty well. That photo of Steaky you are seeing is actually a pretty deflated state. Can you just imagine how huge it used to be five or so days ago?

I’ve stopped eating rice, and I started drinking more water. I tried to cut down on the cream and sugar I put in my coffee, but it just doesn’t taste right. However, I’ve said “no” to the occasional Starbucks trip, so I’m happy about that. I also have been keeping track of my snacking. Which is to say, I don’t do that so much anymore.

I’m all for loving yourself, and having a healthy self-image. But when I start being uncomfortable in my own skin—and gaining 10 lbs. just because of eating too much—then I know something’s up. Who knows? I might even try a little bit of exercising, too. Maybe.

All I know is that this introduction to Steaky is also the beginning of a series of goodbyes, although hopefully not one that would take very long. Ideally, I would love for this string of goodbyes to end at about the first week of October, but maybe that’s wishful thinking on my part.

My desk is kind of a mess. It’s partly why I hate working on it. This is what it looks like on a good day (which means, I sort of tidied it up before dust bunnies and invisible bugs started attacking my eyeballs). I’m kind of sick of it being so messy, but I don’t quite know how to keep it clutter-free.

For future plans! I have Two Big Things coming up concerning these half-books. I had four pieces up during Manilart, all of which went to nice homes. Trickie Lopa, who writes about art for Rogue and on her blog, Manila Art Blogger, briefly wrote about them! I’m not going to put a trackback because I’m shy, heh, so here, have a screencap:

I can’t get over it. Sometimes, I think about how awesome it would be if I could just keep on doing this forever and stop worrying about the future. Alas. I’m not delusional, though. I’m super grateful about the projects I do have, and all of the awesome clients I’ve been blessed with. Sometimes, I think it’s too good to be true, and other times I feel down because I’m not where I want to be yet. Those are just bad spells, though, and I try to work past them.

I think I’m just lucky I have enough time to read in between everything that I do. I’m currently in the middle of—I kid you not—over twelve books. Here are two:

I learned about “Anagrams” from Sasha’s book-flailing. It’s pretty good. I don’t think I’m as immersed in it as I should be, but I’m about halfway done. And, “Boy Meets Boy,” well— I’ve always just wanted to read that.

More good news on the book front: I found a new shelf for the rest of my books!

I just shoved my makeup stuff into a cabinet and called it a day.