mini-boss in a foreign land: choir girl

my officemate arnold invited me to attend berean baptist church. last september, they opened the choir to new participants. naturally, i joined.

it was the first time i wore a choir gown. and frankly, i was quite excited to try one on ;) actually, they just lent me someone else's gown.

i usually sit next to a sweet old lady named jeanette. our choir director is a funny, energetic tenor. at first, i had a hard time keeping up with them. and why not? they were sight readers after all. after a few more practices, i kinda got the hang of it. i loved singing the songs.



*sigh* i miss KB :(

mini-boss in a foreign land: experimental cooking

over the last couple of weeks, i tried cooking several dishes without the benefit of recipes. since i believe in taking calculated risks, i chose only simple and easy dishes ;)

***
i have tried cooking stir-fried bean sprouts when i was in the philippines, but i had my roommie nez' supervision. this time, i tried cooking the same dish, recalling the ingredients and steps from my poor memory. it turned out okay, the dish was edible and the veggies nice and somewhat "crisp" (according to my homies). however, the pork tasted a little bland. i think it was because i put in the salt and pepper after i put in the veggies. oh well, lesson learned. :)



i asked my officemate cris for a dish that was easy to cook (i didn't want to cook sinigang that week), and he suggested i try broiled stuffed pork chop. i decided to do away with the stuffing, since it was going to be my first time to use the oven, and i intended to keep my things-that-could-go-wrong list as short as possible. my homie jarms told me it didn't taste anything like cris' pork chops, but she said it was okay.



since i wanted a balanced meal, i cooked buttered corn and carrots to go with the meat. besides, i figured that if the pork chops weren't edible, at least my homies would have something else to eat. :)



of course, i wouldn't let a week pass by without cooking my latest favorite-dish-to-cook: plalays. this time, i put in the corn and carrots leftover from last night. and, as thundercat suggested, i put in a beaten egg.

seventy-seven

seven things that scare me...
1. heights
2. blood
3. missing out on God's will for me
4. knives and sharp objects
5. accident or death in the family
6. ghost stories
7. giving birth

seven things i like the most...
1. the night sky, esp. when the moon is large, round and orange
2. the smell of freshly laundered clothes and beddings na ginamitan ng fabric conditioner
3. sinigang na hipon
4. sleep
5. singing while taking loooong baths
6. playing computer games
7. spending time with people i love

seven important things in my room...
1. pillows (large, firm ones)
2. pictures and photo albums
3. notes, letters and gifts given to me
4. journals
5. notebooks of text messages
6. collection of books, cds, dvds
7. laptop

seven random facts about me...
1. i usually sleep on my side, with a pillow in my arms and a blanket over me.
2. i write down in a notebook almost all of the text messages i receive.
3. i hate crossing the street
4. i enjoy being one of the boys, but i love dressing up.
5. i don't like having my bare feet touch the floor when i'm seated.
6. i am directionally challenged (i easily get lost).
7. i have a hard time sleeping when my neck and ears are exposed.

seven things i plan (or want) to do before i die...
1. sing with a full orchestra as accompaniment and/or sing in a concert with my musician friends
2. paint
3. learn how to play the violin
4. have a garden wedding, kids and a house of my own
5. be actively involved in volunteer work, esp. among kids
6. travel, travel, travel
7. walk closely with my God

seven things i can do...
1. sing and harmonize
2. sketch
3. swim
4. not speak for a long time
5. sleep half of the day off
6. write articles and poems
7. read fast

seven things i can't do...
1. drive
2. wake up early for several consecutive days
3. play the drums
4. play the guitar
5. dance ballet
6. eat fast
7. do math in my head (yep, i am a math major :P )

seven things that attract me to the opposite sex...
1. deep-set eyes
2. smile
3. confidence/leadership
4. heart
5. wit/sense of humor, can talk about anything and everything
6. intimacy with God
7. thoughtfulness

seven things i say the most...
1. pambihira!
2. pramis?
3. awww...
4. right... (in a somewhat sarcastic tone pero naka-smile pa rin)
5. yes?
6. now na!
7. tara, uwi na tayo ('been saying this a lot lately)

seven celeb crushes... (pagpasensyahan na at wala akong maisip na iba pang guy celebs)
1. tom welling
2. angelina jolie
3. gary valenciano
4. jennifer garner
5. brad pitt
6. johnny depp
7. rachel mcadams

seven people who i want to take this quiz, besides those that have already done this, in alphabetical order...(i could actually list more than seven)
1. andie
2. eyang
3. jarms
4. jean
5. nez
6. shine
7. yeng

mini-boss in a foreign land: plalays

since we went to a going-away party last night, my homies and i weren't able to cook something for today's dinner. jarms (one of my two homies; jean, my other homie had a bowling tournament in the early evening) and i weren't in the mood to eat leftovers, so we decided to have fried squid instead. when i reached into the refrigerator to get the squid, my eye caught the bowl of leftover rice. i thought, why not have fried rice with fried squid?

there were still some pieces of cabbage left from the chop suey i cooked the week before and some crab meat left some weeks before that. i have never cooked fried rice before (and jarms haven't had fried squid before either), but since i was feeling quite adventurous, i thought i'd take a stab at it. :) jarms was not picky, and if all fails, we could always cook white rice. ;)

so i minced some garlic and chopped some cabbages and crab meat. however, i decided that it would be better to fry the squid first, and then use the oil for the fried rice. that way, the rice will have more flavor.

after battling with the oil-spewing squid, i started with the fried rice. i sauteed the garlic and crab meat, and put all the ingredients in. jarms suggested that i add soy sauce to the rice to give it some color, so i did. i also added a dash of salt and pepper.

my experimental fried rice ("plalays", as we jokingly pronounce "fried rice") was edible. in fact, jarms ate more than the rice serving she normally consumes -- and she wasn't even that hungry yet :) i have a feeling we'll be having plalays again soon ;)

mini-boss in a foreign land: the iron chef is at it again

my adobong spinach last week was such a disaster that i had to ask my next-door-neighbor-slash-iron-chef barry to "repair" it. ;)

***
i cooked chop suey again tonight. i used carrots, cabbage, young corn, cauliflower and mushroom (the cauliflower was kinda overcooked :D ) it surely looks good, and i think it tastes okay. i hope my homies like it -- i have to redeem myself ;)


i took this pic myself


i used a timer on this one


ta-dah!