Talking About Secrets...

There's just something truly liberating when you share a secret that you've kept so long with a friend. Or there's just something totally liberating with sharing them. Period.

Or if you're on the other end, there's nothing more intriguing than being told a secret to. You think you know people. But all of us -- at one point or another, really aren't how we make ourselves seem to be at times. Our thoughts are our own and facades are brought out when we relate to certain individuals.

People are complex creatures and I really don't think that anyone can say that they live mundane lives. I believe that beneath the facades, inside our homes, and deep within our hearts, we all carry secrets. These can be silly secrets, shocking ones, juicy, intriguing, or even painful. But the reality of it -- whether good or bad, these secrets can be a burden to carry. Now, cyberworld has thought of creative ways to let the whole world in to your secret. That is, without letting them know who you are. Liberate yourself and at the same time, stay anonymous. It's an interesting concept.

And for all of us who enjoy intrigue and juicy secrets, it's a great way for us to be let in on these secrets. And that's without being accused of gossiping or being labeled as nosy. "We don't even know who they are!!!" ;-)

Here are the sites for your reading pleasure:
Post Secret
Secret Zen
Secret Chest

A lot of these are quite poetic. Some are entertaining and some can be painful to read. But you have to agree about one thing. Going through these sites help us develop empathy. People have reasons for being the way they are. And really, people just aren't how they seem. There's an inner world beneath these facades. We all have our own stories.

PS: The postcards above aren't my secrets, by the way. Just so you know. ;-)

Sales Galore for the Weekend

Take out your wallets and credit cards. One last chance for indulgence before the Holy Week! ;-)

S & R Treat: April 1-5, 2009 - Open from 8 am-9 pm
- Selected items go for up to 50% off! While you're there, why not try the cream-filled pretzels that they have there. Very yummy! And I think they only go for P12/piece if you buy another food item at the regular price. Jojo and I also love their chicken rolls. There were times when we've gone out of our way just to buy these. ;-)

Mall of Asia Mallwide Sale: April 3-6, 2009 - Open from 10 am until midnight
- SM Advantage Card Holders get an additional 10% off at the department store if you buy between 10 am until noon on Friday, April 3.

Landmark Sale: April 3-6, 2009 - 10 am-9 pm
- I mostly shop at Landmark for their home stuff. This is the place to go if you're looking for cute china, glassware, and porcelain plates. I love their cute little tea sets too. Very stylish and chic. ;-) Gotta take advantage of this sale and get one -- among a few other things, that is. ;-)

"Mad Max" at the Spicy Fingers

We've known about the comedy shows at Greenbelt's Spicy Fingers for a while now. We've been wanting to go. Jojo and I had even called to reserve once -- only to cancel it hours before. Something always gets in the way. And it didn't exactly help that all of these shows are scheduled only on Mondays.

Somehow, things worked out and we were able to go just last Monday. We reserved days before and came to Greenbelt quite early. The show doesn't start until 8 pm. But we had planned to come to Spicy Fingers early so that we could have dinner there and reserve good seats too. But when we dropped by the restaurant, not one person was inside. We found out from their waiters that the seats were reserved beforehand anyway. I guess the promoters (E-Circle) choose the seats for you depending on the number of people in your group.

We decided to have dinner elsewhere and at exactly 7:30, we were right at the door of Spicy Fingers. We paid for our tickets at the entrance (P150 each) and looked for the table which had my name on it. I guess it doesn't really matter where you end up sitting. It's a small and intimate place and any seat can assure you of a good view. Ours happened to be in the center -- second row from the front. We were so close that we didn't need to zoom to take pictures. ;-) My only beef was how packed the place got come show time. It's really best to take the trip to the bathroom before the place fills up. Because there's really no way to get around when all the chairs are occupied.

As expected, the show didn't start until 8:45ish. That's 45 minutes late! The performers were ready. They could have started on time if they wanted to. With "Filipino" time in effect, there were only 3 tables occupied when it got to 8:00. That's only 6 or 7 audience members. I can understand why they had to start late. I just wish it didn't have to be so. Uggghhhh.

All this was forgiven and forgotten right after the first act. The show was sooo packed! There were about 6 or 7 (I've lost count!) acts. And the topics and jokes ranged from school rivalries, married life, to living as a Chinese, local/international transport, to maid foibles, and the like. It's really all about finding comedy in the most everyday, mundane things. From the laughter and applause, you can easily tell that yes, everyone can relate! ;-)

Of the 6 or 7, I have two favorites. I absolutely LOVED Mike Unson and Alex Calleja. Mike Unson's thoughts on our MRT system left me in absolute stitches. ;-) Alex Calleja, seemingly a more experienced and "senior" one, also had a lot of interesting (and oh so very true and factual!) things to say about marriage. ;-) It's obvious that he has given all this a lot of thought. ;-) He even gave the married ladies in the crowd a foolproof way of finding out whether your husband is cheating on you. Just hilarious!!!

The other 4 or 5 had their moments too. But it really was Mike and Alex that stood out the most. To get a taste of their comedy, click the links below. These are short video excerpts of their spiel taken from Youtube.





You may also click this link to find out about their upcoming shows. I know I'm going to the April 27 one for sure. Maybe I'll see you there? ;-)

When You Love Someone (Songs of Love and Friendship)

My husband, Jojo, is a real music lover. When I'm in front of my laptop, I'm either on Facebook, or writing a blog, or surfing a list of my favorite sites. But Jojo, on the other hand, spends his time looking for good but underrated music. It's quite painstaking, actually. It requires a bit of detective work. ;-) He starts by searching artists that he likes on Amazon or a site similar to it. He scrolls to the bottom and looks at the list of other albums that other customers who liked it also bought. This is in hopes that Jojo will find albums with a similar "flavor." He goes through each album, listens to snippets of them, and if they're good, goes on to find where they can be downloaded. ;-) Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking. We would buy the album if we could. But unfortunately, these albums are not available in Manila. ;-(

Jojo has his other ways and strategies of searching for good music. I haven't quite figured out how else he does it. But at the rate that he's going, he's introducing to me at least 1 great but unheard-of album every week!

When it comes to my preferences, I have a liking to the rock/alternative type. It seems to be in the opposite end of the spectrum, but I also like Jazz and Standards. ;-) Jojo is very much aware of this, so he also tries to find music that he knows we both will like.

One such album that we both ABSOLUTELY love is "When You Love Someone (Songs of Love and Friendship). This album is by various artists -- the likes of Above the Golden State, Hawk Nelson, Toby Mac, and Nicole Nordeman. Definitely unheard-of huh? ;-) They're mostly Christian artists that's why. It's unfortunate that Christian music is not given as much attention and hype as they should. I mean, they produce a LOT of good music! Not only are they positive but they also have great melodies and excellent arrangements.

For this particular album, my favorites are "I Love You So" (Above the Golden State), "New Day" (Robbie Seay Band); "Let Me Love You" (Josh Wilson); "Don't You Forget About Me" (Hawk Nelson); "Falling For You" (Seabird); "Promise of a Lifetime" (Kutless); and "Confess" (Shawn McDonald). Whoops. I think I might have mentioned most of the tracks. ;-) You see, there are only 12 songs in the album. The styles vary. But the ones that I picked have that Coldplay/Edwin McCain/The Fray -- vibe. "I Love You So" is different from the lot because it's a bit reminiscent of The Beatles. Jojo and I call it our "Happy" song. ;-) We've been frequently singing to this song when stuck in traffic or when going to work. It may be an early Monday morning but this song instantly lifts up our spirits. ;-)

So now, here's our gift to you. Come and enjoy this album with us by downloading it HERE. This site will have the list of songs and their respective artists. If you scroll down and click on Rapidshare, this will lead you to the actual site where you can download it. Have fun and we would love to hear what you think! ;-) Hopefully the songs here will cheer you up too when you're stuck in traffic! ;-)

Zen Zest's Lavender Linen Spray

Do you ever find yourself in bed, unable to sleep because your mind is generating about a hundred thoughts per second? Or maybe you just saw a frightening film that you can't get out of your head? Possibly, it could be just because it's too hot and you're really too uncomfortable to sleep. Whatever the reason is, if I'm unable to sleep, there's one thing that I swear by. No, I don't resort to counting sheep or drinking warm milk. Just two spritzes of Zen Zest's Lavender Linen Spray (P200) always does the trick for me. I swear by it and it always works!

Zen Zest has a whole Aromatherapy line. I haven't tried the others yet. But I'm currently very satisfied with the one that I have tried. For their Lavender Spray, you actually have a choice of getting an air mist spray or one specifically to spray on linen. I like the linen spray better because the scent stays on longer. And I love being surrounded with linens and pillows that smell good! ;-)

On the bottle, it says that the lavender spray is meant to calm and soothe. "The stress-relieving aroma of its essential floral oils will bring peace and tranquility into your home." Very very true. I spray one spritz on my pillow and another on my blanket, close my eyes, take a full, deep breath, and within five or so minutes, I'm off to dreamland! The lavender spray really helps me relax my whole body and eventually, help in driving the thoughts out of my head. It just clears my head.

Could work for you too. Why not give it a try? You can find Zen Zest's stall pretty much anywhere. I get my Zen Zest loot at either Market, Market or Glorietta. ;-)

Sleep tight and have sweet dreams! ;-)

Movie of the Week: "Knowing"

I'm sure you've heard some nasty things about this movie. Aliens with sleek, blonde hair dressed like boy band members. Check. The whole pedantic Scientology take on the film. Check. Nicholas Cage's acting characterized by this single stoic look throughout the film. Check.

Yes, yes, yes, the film is all of these annoying factors and more. But you know what? Regardless of all of these, I still highly recommend this film to everyone.

First, this film has an interesting premise. Fifty years later, a boy and his father finds a piece of paper from a time capsule that's filled with numbers. They uncover a pattern in the numbers -- figuring out that it had a list of the dates of the major disasters in the world along with the number of casualties and the exact coordinates of where it happened. Three of these disasters haven't occurred yet.

That's the general premise. But there are subplots too that make the story more complex. There's the mysterious psychological history of the woman who wrote the prediction. There's the black stones that appear and follow the child wherever he goes. Oh and the group of albino men wearing black trenchcoats watching the house at night too. Is this a ghost story? A psychological thriller? A sci-fi/alien one? The mystery thickens and you never really quite figure it out until halfway through the film. I like that. I really enjoy movies that make me think.

The effects used in the film was just amazing too. I won't get into it too much so as to not reveal the whole plot. But one thing I can tell you is how freaky they really are. It sent chills up my spine! Definitely a feast for the eyes -- that is, if you can keep your eyes open through it. Really scary stuff.

"Knowing" should give you an exciting and thrilling movie experience if you can learn to ignore a few nuances. I honestly enjoyed it. Really now. I didn't know about the whole Scientology take on it until Jojo mentioned it to me after the film. I interpreted it as rather Christian. Biblical allusions were just represented in a different way. But all the same, the message was positive. At times, the movie deeply frightened me. And other times, it made me think. It's a good balance. I really enjoyed the film.

Go see the movie and judge for yourself. I'd like to know what you thought of it. ;-)

The Best Gelato Flavor in the Metro

I'm no gelato connoisseur. I haven't even tried close to half of the gelatos available in the metro. But you just know when you've found THE one right? ;-) Well, I have. And it comes in the form of the Sans Rival gelato at Amici. Yum!!!

Come to think of it, I've never really tried sans rival in ice cream or gelato form. This is my first. And guess what. It works! The gelato in itself is smooth but the chunks and bits of wafer layer, peanuts, and butter cream icing gives it a lot of texture. The smoothness of the cream complements the texture given by the sans rival bits found in the gelato. The picture below will fool you. You'll think that it's all gelator cream. But when you take that bite, you'll be surprised to taste the generous chunks of sans rival hidden in the scoop! Each cup of this piece of heaven costs only P50. With that, you'll get a humongous scoop of the gelato. ;-) It tastes yummy, it's cheap, and hey, it's not as fattening as ice cream too! Yay!!! ;-)

You can buy Amici gelato in two places. We got ours from a stall on the second floor of Waltermart -- right across the grocery store. Waltermart can be found in the corner of Pasay Road and Pasong Tamo, Makati. Amici is not only known for their gelatos. They also serve authentic Italian pizzas and pastas. But you can only find this at their restaurant that's behind Don Bosco Church. From Waltermart, if you cross the street and walk half a block, you'll easily find it along Pasay Road too. The Amici restaurant has a greater variety of gelato flavors available. If you go to the Waltermart stall, they'll have about 15 there. And the flavors available may change on a daily basis. But so far, I've been lucky and the two times that I've gone to get Sans Rival gelato, they've had it! ;-)

When we go there, Jojo often goes for the "fruitier" gelatos. He got the watermelon one before and loved it! This time around, he got the Mango Jubilee gelato. He really liked it too and enjoyed the small bits of mango added in to the smooth cream. For our next visit, I plan to try the Espresso flavor and Jojo has his eye on the Chocolate with Nuts gelato. Oh and they also have gelatos with Italian names. I honestly don't know what they are. But we plan to try all of those too in our successive visits. ;-) I've no doubt that they will be good. I'll just have to resist getting Sans Rival gelato again though. I'll need to try the other flavors too! ;-)