Second Pitstop of the Amazing Race

They did it again! Rob and Amber have used their wits and cunningly made their way into the top spot for the 2nd pit stop of the Amazing Race at Santiago, Chile. It seems like they've really been trained by Survivor to be competitive cuz they've definitely outplayed, outsmart and outwitted all the other teams and had a very big time lead. They've done everything and when I say everything,I mean everything. They paid some dude to not tell the other teams the schedule of the buses, they paid the bus driver not to open the 2nd door of the bus so that the other teams would not be able to go down right away, they found a strategic way to stack all 180 books so that they could deliver it to the library of congress in just one trip. They may have been bad but I must admit, they're really cunning and competitive and this is definitely the reason why they won the million in Survivor All Stars and now they're leading the pack in the Amazing Race.

I'm also glad that Alex and Lynn, the adorable gay couple, are still in it. As always, they were as gay as ever.



I cant wait for next week. Im sure its gonna be as exciting as ever. My bets are still in and I hope they'll still be in it next week.

*Pics courtesy of CBS Amazing Race 7 site

Here are a few of my favorite things...la la la

My Favorite...

1.color: black and green

2.flower: sunflowers and daisies

3.perfume: im not into perfumes but i like how cool water smells (guess who smells like it! =))

4.author: tolkien, coehlo, rowling, l.m. montgomery, l.snicket, bob ong (he's funny!)

5.book: veronika decides to die, by the river piedra..., LOTR and other tolkien books, potter series, series of unfortunate events

6.condiment: patis

7.shoes: love wearing sandals/flip flops, i love my chucks

8.local channel: kapuso at kabarkada

9.beauty product: lip gloss, cheek tint and pressed powder are my staple beauty products

10.magazine: anything that i see i read

11.cookie: subway's choco chip cookies! so chewy!

12.ice-cream: cookies and cream, blizzard's mudpie

13.chocolate: toblerone, chocettes and ferrero's are my top choice

14.junk food: love nova, clover chips, tortillos, doritos and ruffles

15.restaurant: chilis, banana leaf, yellow cab, taco bell (burritos, burritos!)

16.month/s: december (best month ever!)

17.number: 13 and 14

18.day: as long as its my rest day, then i love that day

19.fast food joint: kfc and mcdonald's

20.t.v.show: amazing race, survivor series, im beginning to like tru calling, mulawin

21.car: always wanted to have a rav 4.

22.comedian: ben stiller

23.subject: history

24.radio station: jam 88.3

25.occasion: christmas and new year

26.cartoon character: spongebob (rather, spandsbab, spandsbab!)

27.fashion designer: not brand conscious and dont care who designs clothes, as long as they look nice and comfy, then they're okay

28.clothing store: people are people

29.pet: no pets. i want to have a pet cow though. =)

30.athlete: i liked yevgeny kafelnikov when i was in highschool. he's a tennis player. but i liked him more for his looks than his tennis skills.

31.sport: basketball!

32.sports theme: theme? or team? dont get this.

33.jeans: jeans at ppl are ppl fit me perfectly

34.season: summer! i love the sun sun sun!

35.hobby/ies: reading books, listening to music, blogging, watching movies

36.accessory: anything cute and fancy

37.fruit: strawberry, banana, kiwi

38.vacation spot: baguio and puerto galera, i want to go to BOHOL!

39.drinK: strawberry milkshake, lemonade, anything light

40.food: currentlyl craving for panna cotta, pesto, pizza!

41.hang-out: where i hang out? at home? podium (2nd home of all BDO employees)

42.dessert: panna cotta,ice cream and crepes

43.movie: LOTR!, big fish, amelie, collateral, underworld...etc...sobrang dami!

44.cable channel: im the only person on earth who does not have cable yet

45.website: any blog, as long as its interesting

46.toothpaste: colgate

47.cake: coffee crunch ng red ribbon, homemade honey cake that u can get at san lorenzo vill.

48.expression: when i asked my friend what my usual expression is, my friend answered..."u look ugly"

49.attire: jeans, shirt, rubber shoes

50.place: i dream of going to bohol! i dream of living by the beach!


thanks for this shadowlane!

Panna Cotta!

I've been craving for this dessert for 2 days already. I have no idea where to get it (there's a resto in Tagaytay that sells it but I cant possibly go all the way there just for that) so here's the recipe, maybe I can actually prepare it and finally have a taste of it!

I want Panna Cotta!

----- oOo -----

Panna Cotta al Caffe (serves 2)

4 oz/120 ml very strong espresso or coffee
8 oz/240 ml heavy (double) cream
2 oz/60 g sugar
1 envelope/(1 teaspoon/7 g) unflavored powdered gelatin

Pour half of the cream into a saucepan, add the sugar and espresso, and heat almost to a boil. Remove from heat and sprinkle gelatin on top. Stir until the gelatin dissolves and let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Whip remaining cream into soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the gelatin mixture. Pour the cream into 2 individual ring or round molds and refrigerate for about 3 hours.

To serve, remove panna cotta from moldsonto serving plate, decorate with whippedcream and whole coffee beans or a sprinklingof ground coffee.

Sabik sa Pagbabago

Nagkaroon na ba ng pagkakataong bigla mo na lang gusto magkaroon ng malaking pagbabago sa iyong buhay?

Ganyan ang nararamdaman ko ngayon. Parang may maliit na tinig sa ulo at damdamin ko na tila'y humihiling na baguhin ko naman ang pag-ihip ng hangin sa tinatahak kong daan. Hindi naman sa nagsasawa na ako. Nasa estado lamang siguro ako na pawang nalubos ko na ang mga bagay bagay at may panibagong daan na namang gustong lakbayin. Sa tingin ko'y handa na ako sa pagbabagong ito bagama't hindi ko pa ito napagnilayan ng husto. Sa katunayan, mukang ikagagalak ko pa nga ito.

Marahil mahirap unawain kung ano nga ba ang nais kong ipahayag. Sa ngayon, hindi pa siguro panahon na ito'y mailantad ngunit sa ngayon, ito ang tila umuukilkil sa aking isip at damdamin kaya't heto sya ngayon...isinusulat ko sa sisidlan ng aking buhay.

Amazing Race 7 Na!

Amazing Race 7 na!

And as expected, todo adrenalin rush especially with Rob and Amber as part of the contenders. They ended up in 3rd place for the first pit stop in Peru.

At first, I was really excited to watch these two cuz Survivor is soo much different compared to Amazing Race pero habang nanonood ako, may new favorites na ako, si Alex and Lynn, the gay couple! Ang cute cute nila. Not like Reiken and Chip (the other gay couple who won in one of the Amazing Race season, i forget which one), they're both soooo gay and its soo nice to just watch them. They both remind me of Sean Hayes of Will and Grace.

I cant wait for next week. I hope they dont get eliminated soon.

I Command You to Go to Work!

Ikatlong araw ng absent si Jenny. In fairness, nami-miss ko ang piklat na babaitang ito.

Kahapon na ata ang isa sa mga pinakaboring na araw ng buhay ko. Wala halos magawa sa office. Panakanaka lamang ang pagpasok ng mga tawag at lahat ng seatmates ko ay walang pasok. Wala si Sasa, wala si Jenny at wala si Bhea. Tahimik. Sobrang tahimik. Nakatapos pa nga akong magbasa ng isang buong libro...take note...habang nasa trabaho. Sumasagot pa ako ng telepono nyan ha. Partida.

Malungkot pag walang kausap. Kahit walang ginagawa, nakakapagod pa rin.

Pumasok ka na Maria Fatima!

On Personal Legends and Life

Sinimulan kong magbasa ng The Alchemist na isinulat ni Paolo Coehlo noong isang linggo. Pagkatapos ng ilang araw, natapos ko rin. Nabasa ko na yung Veronika Decides to Die at By the River Piedra... pero hindi ko pa nabasa ang ultimate at "beloved book" niya til now. Hindi ko pa tapos pero it has stirred my curiosity and has started making me think about a lot of things...especially about finding one's own Personal Legend.

Ano nga ba ang Personal Legend? Sabi ni Coehlo, ang bawat nilalang ay may kanya kanyang Personal Legend. Tinitukoy nito ang isang bagay na pinakananais mo na makamit sa iyong buhay. Para sa pangunahing tauhan na si Santiago, ang makapaglakbay at mahanap ang kanyang kayamanan ang kanyang Personal Legend. Matagal kong pinilit inisip kung ano ang aking Personal Legend. Makapaglakbay din ba? Mabasa ang lahat ng libro ng gusto kong basahin? Makasama panghabambuhay ang aking pinakamamahal? Inisip ko ng inisip at ngayong isinusulat ko ito...pakiwari ko'y alam ko na ang sagot.

Ang mabuhay ng simple at tahimik. Yan ang aking pinakananais na makamit sa aking buhay. I never dreamed of greatness. I never wanted riches. Ang magkaroon lamang ng sapat ang tunay na magpapaligaya sa akin. Having too much brings complications. I never want complications.

"Maktub". It has been written. Yan ang kadalasang isambit sa libro. Kumbaga, naisulat o naitakda na ang mga bagay sa iyong buhay. Parang mahirap paniwalaan no?

Hindi ako kailanman naniwala na may mga bagay sa mundong ito na sadyang itinadhana sa isang tao. Para sa akin, kung sino at anuman ang iyong makasalubong sa paglalakbay mo sa iyong buhay, sadyang pagkakataon lamang ito. Magbubunga at magyayabong lamang ang pagtatapo at pagsasamahan at makakamit ang mga ninanais kung ito ay iyong paghihirapan. Kahit na ba itinadhana sa iyo ang isang bagay, kung hindi ka kikilos upang ito ay makamit, sadyang hindi mo ito matatamo.

Sadyang maraming tao ang pilit umiintindi sa buhay. Marami na ang naisulat upang bigyang liwanag ang mga misteryo nito. Ngunit sa dinami dami ng naigugol na panahon para intindihin ito, tuloy pa ring hindi nasasagot ang maraming katanungan ng tao ukol sa kanyang buhay. Marami pa rin ang nangangapa sa bawat paghakbang niya sa daang kanyang tinatahak. Kung sa bagay, ano pa nga ba ang ikagaganda ng buhay kung alam mo na ang lahat ukol rito? Ano pa ang saysay kung wala na ang misteryo?