I Am The Walrus

Today is Halo-Halo Saturday in our household. We all pitched in P100 to buy ingredients to make homemade halo-halo: red mongo beans, garbanzos, ube halaya, nata de coco, kaong, red gulaman, sweetened sago, sweetened bananas and langka. It’s been a hot summer day so the nice, cool feeling of traditional halo-halo went gradually straight to my head like a slow brain freeze.

-0-0-0-

My father and I both like to grill things. New Year tradition has always been us out in the garage next to the grill, booze and some veggies and a carb of some kind (spaghetti? pancit? plain rice?) and have lined up for the "ihaw" the following: huge ass tuna, stuffed squid, korean barbequed chicken breast fillet, liempo and some hotdogs for Cojie. Then I make a simple green salad with basic vinaigrette (one part sesame oil, one part cane vinegar, one part patis, one garlic clove crushed and some dried basil) and mushroom soup.

Then I run like hell the next day to burn it all off.

-0-0-0-

My mother, on the other hand, shares my liking for Pinoy-style vegetables like pinakbet, ginataang langka, ginataang puso ng saging, pinatalbog na himbabao (yes! there’s a vegetable called "himbabao"! look it up!) and chopsuey. Well, chop suey isn’t Pinoy, but my mom loves the way I cook it.

The best vegetable ensemble in chopsuey consists of the following: green peas (the ones still in the pods), cauliflower/broccoli, petchay baguio, carrots, young corn, red bell peppers, button/shitake mushrooms and occasionally, sayote as an extender. The key is in getting the sauce just right — not too thin like clear soup or too thick like gravy. Just the right consistency to not overcook the vegetables.

And as my office seatmate, Tukayoguev, would say, chopsuey isn’t right without fried chicken.

-0-0-0-

Notice how i started with dessert and am ending with appetizers?

My favorite appetizer in any restaurant I go to is garlic mushrooms. I can just eat that and skip the whole meal and go straight to the beer. And it’s so simple to do. It’s just a can of button mushrooms, lots of minced garlic, butter and some vegetable oil. Brown the garlic in the butter/oil combination and then drop the mushrooms. That’s it.

Although I once went to an office thing in Tagaytay where the appetizers were assorted sushi and sashimi and it was heaven. My priest friend Diego introduced me to Unagi Sushi about ten years ago— its main meat is salty fresh water eel. And I order it every chance I get.

Let’s talk about cocktails next time.

1. The most painful thing to happen to me today was seeing Michael Johns get eliminated from American Idol Season 7. For the first time in seven years, I actually rooted for an AI finalist and he doesn’t even make it to the top 4. And I still don’t get it. He’s good looking. He can sing. Stupid, stupid Americans.

2. The notorious DJ Montano spoke on TV Patrol today and everyone at the office halted whatever they were doing to listen to him… deny everything. Jeez. What do you expect.

3. One of my most beloved TV characters, Danny Messer of CSI NY cheated on his girlfriend, Lindsay Monroe. Even in the fictional world, guys continue to disappoint.

4. Except one guy. Congratulations, Pan Fried Chicken. You are officially the densest guy I know.

5. Oh, then there’s this Other Guy who said he won’t go to LA and then lo and behold — the Universal Studios! (Slow and sarcastic applause).

6. My former boss and mentor also broke my heart — he’s moving to "The Dark Side". (If you were from GMA, guess were the dark side is?). I still can’t believe it. It’s like Chiz Escudero running for Vice-President to Noli de Castro.

7. Biggest pleasant surprise of the day —- Raymond Guttierez. He hosted an office event this afternoon and he was funny. I’m not kidding. He was spontaneous and witty and charming and could give Arnel Ignacio or John Lapus a run for their money. Not that I’m implying anything.

Shocking since I never thought I would ever have any affection for any of Annabelle Rama’s spawns.

8. Speaking of Arnel Ignacio, Gobingo returns to GMA this Monday and I am PSYCHED!!!! Not just because I loved the show in the 90s, but because I think it’s testament to how brilliant my bosses are. You won’t understand but…. brilliant.

9. The reason why Bradley Whitford has had no (major) projects since Studio 60 is because he has been on the campaign trail endorsing Hilary Clinton. Don’t really know how to feel about that.

10. I forgot to buy Cojie french fries on the way home. Damn it.

To my well-meaning friend (who, God bless him, reads my blogs regularly — probably not anymore after this haha) in the comments section in an earlier post who proclaimed his disbelief of the global warming propaganda perpetrated by the mass media — without, for a second, realizing that I’m in mass media and would be offended twice over — and offered his take as a skeptic of global warming, here’s my response…

Um. No, thank you.

I’ve read the literature. On BOTH sides. (I’m not an idiot) And being in media — and in research — there’s really only one thing you should never forget to read: the footnotes.

The arguments have been convenient at best. “Hugas-kamay” goes the Tagalog term (hand-washing?). To hide behind “the forces of nature” is just too lazy a belief for me.

And everyone has an agenda. Even people who point fingers at other people who allegedly have an agenda have an agenda.

Whatever it is that the skeptics say about the environment, it still doesn’t change the fact that something has to be done now. And if it inconveniences people to not use their cars once in a while or walk short distances — two measly little changes that I suggested in my blog— then goes on to say “Those claims are exaggerated anyway”, they’re just lazy and selfish.

Really, sweetie. You should’ve just texted me first.

I am so excited about this blog that I thought of three different intros which I will all do, as follows:

Intro 1: Me, I’m deathly afraid of water. About twenty summers ago, we were vacationing in Calauan, Laguna, swimming in a nearby river, when the current started to bring me to deeper waters. I distinctly remember the genuine fear of not feeling ground under my feet, and I also remember the rest of the universe disappearing under water. If it hadn’t been for my cousin, Eric, I would not be here. (Which is why he is Cojie’s ninong).

Intro 2: I’ve been thinking about buying a car. A nice, big, family car like an Avanza or an Innova, something cheap, under 1M. I thought it would be a good promotion gift for myself, or a 10th anniversary gift next year, when I celebrate 10 years working for GMA. (”Are you serious?” you’d say. Yes. Sigh.) I could take Cojie to school before I drive to work, I can sleep in my car during lunch breaks, I can just drive, drive, drive to wherever I want.

Intro 3: I’d like to think of myself as a political person. I have very concrete beliefs and opinions about poverty and war and equality and the economy. I know I am all for more laws penalizing against violence against women. I know I am against political dynasties. I know I am against tax increases while there remains clear evidence of corruption in every department of this government. And I also know a good cause when I see one.

(Here’s the rest of the blog)

This three-day weekend, I saw Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”

Al Gore, if you remember, is the guy who could’ve been president of the United States. He was Clinton’s vice-president, and lost to George W. Bush via a questionable election (ring any bells? no pun intended, Garci). After losing to Bush, he had embarked on a series of slideshows all over the US and the world, talking about Global Warming.

Now, anyone with a highschool education knows about Global Warming. We, in St. Matthew’s Academy, in fact had a 2nd year course for it — Environmental Science. We all know the stories of photosynthesis, the water cycle, the greenhouse effect, etcetera etcetera. We all took the same fill-in-the-blank exams, made the posters, wrote the slogans. We segregated biodegradeable from non-biodegradable garbage.

And then we graduated. Finished college. Got a job.

The knowledge about Global Warming got shelved along with the names of the Katipuneros, types of polygons, Edgar Allan Poe’s Cask of Amontillado, and types of phrases. They’re all textbook knowledge, we say. What matters most to us now is that time is running out: “I need to buy a house by the time I’m 40″, “I need to get married before I turn 35″,”I have to get promoted”,”I have to get my US visa by the end of this year”….

…”I want a car”

And watching this film made me think, “How the hell am I going to enjoy everything I’ve worked so hard for if it’s all under water?”. I was most shocked at one part, where Al Gore illustrated that if all of the ice in Greenland melted, the world’s oceans would go up 20 feet, and a fourth of China would be under water. I wanted to pan up his map to see how we in the Filipinas would do, but I bet we won’t be doing too well.

I suddenly remembered Baguio. I wonder if it’s time to buy real estate there.

Like I said, I am deathly afraid of water. I would rather have the planet explode in one fiery ball than to have a hundred foot tidal wave consuming our neighborhood.

A hundred foot tidal wave. I will be the first to die, I swear.

So here I am, getting the word out. I know a lot of my friends find time to read my rantings and I’m hoping — for the first time perhaps, in the three years that I’ve been doing this — I could make a difference.

First, check out this website www.climatecrisis.net

Second, find ways to lessen carbon emissions. It’s so simple. DON’T BRING YOUR CAR ALL THE TIME! It saves gas, and sometimes even time! Try timing a trip from Timog Ave to Shangri-la by a cab and by the MRT.

And besides, you don’t know what you’re missing if you haven’t been on the commute in years. The people, the sights, the smells! (Haha) You are missing a whole other world locking yourself up in that car of yours. Just one less day of bringing your car is a world of difference.

Here’s another tip. WALK! Walk, for God’s sakes. I know people who take their cars to go to a bank three blocks away. For the love of God. How lazy can you be.

And finally — and most importantly — the next presidential elections is coming up. We should put in office a president who will put the environment right on top of his list. If I hear “Solusyon sa Kahirapan” one more time, I’m throwing dog-poo-grenades.

I wonder if Noli de Castro has Al Gore’s balls?