Doing it for J (And to the friends who will be leaving physically)

Take One: Karibal si Ate

Mainit sa loob nga car. Parang sa Titanic. Pero nagkikiss lang naman sila. Mapusok ang halik ni Kathy sa lalaking owner ng car. Sa lalaking owner ng puso ng ate ni Kathy. At naghiwalay ang namamagang mga labi ni Kathy at namumulang mga labi ng syota ng ate niya.

Paano kung nalaman ‘to ng ate mo?

Di niya malalaman to. Eh paano kung nalaman to ng boyfriend ko?

Eh ‘di naman kami magkakilala ng boyfriend mo eh.

Sabagay.

At naghalikan silang muli.

Take Two: Ang CD

Mahinhin ang pag-ihip ng hangin mula sa bintana. Sabay sa pagsayaw ang ilang mga hibla ng buhok ni Val. Yakap siya ni Marc habang sumasaliw sa himig ng musika sa CD ni Marc ang galaw ng katawan nila.

Ang ganda ng mga music sa CD. Pwedeng sa akin na lang ?

Ahhhh.... Sige na nga. Salamat din pala sa brownies.

Kanino yung mas masarap, dun sa sinasabi mong stalker mo o yung sa akin?

Magkalasa lang eh.

Nakakainis ka! Pinagpaguran ko yang ibake, tapos – mph! Wag dyan! Nakikiliti ako!

Take Three: Age Doesn’t Matter

Pinagmamasdan niya ang mga mata ng mas nakababatang lalaking katabi niya. Si little brother. Nanginginig sa takot. Nagyaya pa kasi na manood ng horror movie. Ang laki naman nyang duwag pag sumigaw siya, tuli na nga eh. Hahaha!

Palagi silang magkasama ni little brother. Parang ang sweet pagmasdan ng dalawa. Parang magkapatid daw. Pero masyadong sweet.

Minsan nga nagseselos na ang gf ni big brother. Sabi niya naman sa kanya, parang kapatid lang daw ang turing niya dito.

Siguro nga dapat ng magselos si GF kay little brother.

Take Four: Love Team LANG daw

Si Jerry, palaging tinutukso sa kaklase niya. Palagi kasing magkatabi sa lahat ng klase nila. Magkasama tuwing recess at lunch time.

Magbestfriend naman talaga silang dalawa. Pero binibigyan yun ng kulay ng mga klasmyets nila.

Pero di sila magkasamang umuuwi. Sinusundo kasi si Jerry ng kuya niya na never namang nakilala ng kaloveteam niya.

O di ba, loveteam nga lang siguro silang dalawa. Ni di nga kilala ng tinutukso kay Jerry ang kuya nito eh.

Siguro nga loveteam lang sila.

Take Five : Ang Text Message

Text # 1: From Val. To her bunsong kapatid.

Hey lil sis! Ano nga ba yung nilalagay mong chocolate sa brownies for boylet? Textback ASAP. I’ll bake mamaya. Turuan mo ako later.

Text # 2: From Kath. To her ate.

.,hEy biG SiS! duTch pRoCesSeD cHoc0 p0h. wiHeE! baKe tAu leiTer!. peNge hUh.,

Text # 3: From Kath. To her secret BF.

., hEyYerZ! mEi gGawiN aQoh lEiTer.. baKe kMi ni aTe k0h. mizZ u! see y0u sa sCho0L! mwAh !

Text # 4: From Jeri. To his loveteam.

mizz na rin kita! mwah! sana sagutin mo na ako. ‘ehe… secret pa rin sa classmates natin kahit tayo na.

Text # 5: From Jeri. To his another loveteam.

kuya bhie napakinggan mo na yung CD? maganda ba mga songs? kanta ko yan para sayo. ‘ehe

Text # 6: From Marc. To his Bhie.

Oo bhie. Pinakinggan ni Val, nagustuhan din niya. Kinuha nga niya eh. Pagburn mo ulit ako. Please? Bigay mo sa akin bukas pag sinundo na kita.

Behind the camera:

Si Lors, bes ni Val. Ate ni Jeri.

Jeri, pagsabihan mo nga sa kaklase mong bestfriend, wag niyang ahasin yung ate niya. Eto na naman kasi, nagbubuhos ng sama ng loob si Val sa akin. Nagpapaturo pang magbake sa akin! Di naman ako marunong! Kapag akong nainis, susugrin ko yang bestfriend mo!

Eh ate, ano bang gusto mong mangyari, ligawan ko kaklase ko?

Kaya mo?

***

Para sa lahat ng gagraduate, maraming salamat sa pagshare niyo ng buhay niyo! J, maraming salamat. Kahit di tayo close. Pero alam mo, kahit papaano, di naman ako nagsisi na ikaw yung buddy ko. Magaling ka eh! Sensible ka, I want everyone to know. At may mga magtataasan ng kilay diyan. Grow like that acacia tree that I’ve told you.

Para sa mga magtatapos, kayo ang tauhan sa kwentong ito. Pangalan niyo lang naman. Ate Acey, ikaw yung stalker. Haha! Joke! Pasensya na sa mga di ko nasama. Kuya Rex! Parang feeling ko di ka pa rin gagraduate for real. Hehehe…

Doing It at the Worst and Best Food Establishments

Top 3 Worst Food Establishments

They’re out there to make you feel that the price you pay isn’t worth it. It’s as if the purpose of these food establishments is to remind us that the world is not perfect and life is unfair.

3. Chowking Philcoa
Praise be to Chowking, it gives an irony to fast food restaurants. Ordering consumes a lot of time, cooking time spends more time. Before your food arrives, your glass of beverage would be past half empty. A good thing is that they now have combo meals because way, way back, I really had to contemplate on their food choices because they were a la carte. But even with combo meals, I still spend ample amount of time before arriving on my decision of what to order. Looking on their menu board make me feel woozy. Also, this branch always looks dirty and they always run out of chopsticks.

2. Superbowl of China, SM Pampanga branch
A fine Chinese restaurant with fine food but lousy service. This branch is a disgrace to the restaurant chain. The servers are like freshies on their first day of class. They don’t have any idea. It appears that they don’t have ample training. The branch manager even looks haggard maybe because of her crew or maybe because of the hot tempered customers or maybe because of the civilization living inside their comfort room.

1. McDonald’s Philcoa
Everyone says that Mc Donald’s Philcoa is the worst Mc Donald’s there is. And in my entire life, I totally agree. The food is, umm, typical McDo food. The problem is not the service, but the servers themselves. The rationale that they have is asinine. What could be the best example is taro pie dressed in apple pie wrapper. Or suggestive selling that is out of proportion. Or how their faces suggest danger from within. You don’t wanna go back in there, but sometimes, you’re left with no choice.

Top 5 Best Food Establishments
From my experience, here are top 5 food establishments that I want to recommend to Kapampangan students like me who are studying in UP Diliman (you’ll see why I specified a place, I had to).

5. Gloria Jean’s Coffee Shop
Gloria Jean’s Coffee Shop in North Walk (it’s in City of San Fernando, Pampanga) is the best place to read your favorite book. It is best after taking off the bus from Cubao. Gloria Jean’s is not crowded w/ Blairwitches with eyeliners and Super Saiyans in fitted neon jeans. You could enjoy a variety of flavors of ice blended, hot and cold drinks. Don’t try the one with Macadamia nuts though, for it tastes like plastic balloon.

Price Range: P150-250
Ambiance: 4 (out of 5)

Service: 3-4, it depends whether the barista is rude, indifferent or overly friendly (FC)

Palate: 4.25

I recommend: Voltage -- a strong ice blended espresso drink. The absence of whipped cream makes it brusquer.

4. Starback (Balara Food Complex)
Ah, dining al fresco style. Consider jeepneys as Model T Fords, smog as fog, and your fellow eaters as OFWs, you’ll think that you’re in a café in Paris! But on the real side, Starback is no Paris. It’s an ambulant food service (carinderia) for jeepney drivers. It’s open from morning until night. It doesn’t boast its food but the price that it charges.

Price Range: P10-40
Ambiance: 2.5. You wouldn’t want to eat beside a sewage, do you?

Service: 4. Really, they boast their prompt service, but yeah, minus the smile.

Palate: 3. Sorry, but with your budget, asa ka pa! Wag ka nang mareklamo!

I recommend: Nothing. The price is good though.

3. Likha Diwa sa Gulod
Located near the Arch of the Ligas-ed Cross is a garden-slash-art exhibit-slash-vegetrian café that goes with the name Likha Diwa sa Gulod (it would really be helpful if you guys know what Gulod is). It has Boho-Filipino ambiance with artwork display on the walls. They have an area for floor sitting people and smoke belching people. And they have handmade menu. This place is a no-no for ruthless animal-eating blood hungry people. The place offers food items for vegetarians and vegans. But they still offer meat – seafood.

Price Range: P75-200
Ambiance: 4.5

Service: 3.5

Palate: 4

I recommend: Vegetarian Kare Kare has a nice roasted peanut taste and it comes with Vegetarian Bagoong. Amazing? I definitely think so!

2. Coffee Library
I love the sitcom Friends and I consider this place as my Central Perk. I, together with my friends, enjoy having coffee klatch here. They have an ample selection of drinks and they have some affordable and delectable cheesecakes.
Price Range: P60-150
Ambiance: 3.75. Too hot outside, too cold inside. The flush on their toilet is hard to push. The place is also too small.

Service: 3.5. Watch out for the barista for he gets grumpy near the wee hours.

Palate: 4.5

I recommend: Ice-Blended Coffee Caramel -- a bitter sweet concoction that is a best seller. This was my first drink that I bought from the café and I haven’t forgotten the taste since then.

1. Combi
The best dining experience that I had was not in a fancy restaurant (which I don’t eat in often because of budget constraint). Have you heard of Combi? I called it Combo before.
This establishment was featured in past issues of my favorite food oriented magazines, Appetite and Yummy, and Combi had a good review. Why else would Combi be in those magazines of it wasn’t good enough, right?
Combi has a retro ambiance, with cute miniature super heroes with large heads, lava lamp, colorful mono bloc chairs, colorful show plates. They have the cheapest bottomless iced tea and they serve food in bowls (except for vegetable items).
What I like about Combi is not the food really, but the exceptional service. After you order, you don’t need to speak, for everything is in order (this might sound really exaggerated). Their service is fast and prompt; it is really at par with top restaurants.
Price Range: P50-100
Ambiance: 4. Too small, as if you’re cramped in a cubicle. But the interior is great!

Service: 5

Palate: 4

I recommend: Mapo Tofu -- It’s a twist of the real thing. Fried tofu smothered with sweet sauce topped w/ red bell peppers, kangkong and fried noodles.