01 March 2008

Your Song, Your Salon, YAY for Readers!

Tomorrow I'll be able to put up a new plated dessert for Lasang Pinoy (Filipino Taste blogging event), but today is a nice day and I wanted to share a few silly things that made me smile and to get some business done!

Click here for a digital recording of me playing Elton John's "Your Song." I'm obviously just winging it. I thought I'd be able to sing to it, but I just came from a cold and my voice is still shit. I've been playing a lot of Carly Simon and Carole King for some reason too. I practically grew up on these tunes, not because I was born in the seventies, but because my dad always makes sure the dial on the car radio is stuck on "Lite Rock." But I don't mind today as those three are bad-ass.
My hair today
This is my hair these days. In fact I took this picture a month and a week ago so it's much longer now. I told Graeme that my hair is almost about as long as James Martin's when he started out, and his reply made me laugh so hard but it's not printable. I have no real attachment to my hair (except that I won't shave it bald because... It's just not me), but I can get it cut any time. I saw a snippet of some stupid competitive hairstyling show and the judges were describing the difference between a $50 cut and a $500 cut. What the hell? I pay all of $5 for my haircut. But that's probably because all barbers are underpaid here. I find it extremely decadent for someone to pay $500 for something that'll grow out!
More Cookbooks on Sale
Speaking of James Martin, National Bookstore has a big sale going on (as much as 70% off on many titles), and I got both his "delicious!" book and Michel Roux's book "Only the Best" for P600 ($15), both undamaged. Great deal.
The Curious Kumquat Spice Care Package
Rob Connoley of The Curious Kumquat is also the gracious host of The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts and Letters' forums on Pastry and Baking, which I frequently post in, asking and answering (mostly asking) questions about everything dessert-related (sometimes I post on other topics too). I love talking about food, especially desserts-- it precedes my diligence to this blog. Anyway, Rob was alarmed when I didn't know the taste of many spices, including Cardamom and Fennel, due to scarcity in my country (I suppose restaurants source it specially). He sent me a "spice care package" from his store in New Mexico filled with all sorts of wonderful playthings! There's Cardamom, Fennel, Celery Seed, Almond Flour, Chocolate with Chili, Raspberry Compound, Quince Preserves (I think I now have the only bottle in the Philippines), Maltodextrin, Sodium Alginate, and Calcium Chloride. I can't wait to play with them! This great guy has already received my vehement gratitude. Please do visit his store, or place an order!

I remember the days when I would post a dessert very often (man, did I gain weight) and I'd receive a comment from my two very kind readers, Graeme (Keeton, whom I also met on eGullet, mind you) and Patricia (Scarpin). I'm not sure what happened when but the goodwill suddenly multiplied and I'm overwhelmed with the niceness of a lot of new readers. I just received an Excellence award from the super-cool (Duuuude!) Jen Yu of Use Real Butter, lovely Susan of Food Blogga, a Nice Matters award from the infinitely nicer Deeba of Passionate About Baking, and a shout-out from Allen of the always-entertaining Eating Out Loud. I just wanted to say thanks (SNIFF) to readers old and new. I hope I can continue to keep you interested.

Pinay MegaMom tagged me to share six more facts about myself. Let's see if I can share some facts which will not have you reaching for the toilet!

  1. I've never been massaged in any form. Ever. It's not like I'm afraid to be touched or anything, I just don't think I've ever really been stressed or angry enough, even as a medical student. I'd rather sleep than worry about some person touching my butt.

  2. It's easy to make me cry by telling me a sad story. I've cried with a few special patients already, even if I shouldn't have. I've even cried on incredibly dumb movies like Liar, Liar and Bruce Almighty (yes, they are both Jim Carrey movies... Why?). But I don't cry from pain or hardship. And if you make me watch a movie, telling me that I'm sure to cry, I probably won't (see: The Notebook).

  3. When I was young, I considered becoming a priest. Yeah. Too late for that now.

  4. I've only cheated once. It was some stupid 10-point math quiz when I was in fourth grade that was so inconsequential we were checking our own papers. I don't know why I was so nervous getting a mistake in the first place. Anyway, the stress of cheating was just too much, so I just learned to live with my mistakes, and to let my victories be true ones.

  5. I tried out several times for the school newspaper staff when I was in elementary school but I didn't get in until I was in the fifth grade. Apparently my writing was either nonsensical or plainly sucked.

  6. I have on cassette all of Gloria Estefan's early works all the way till 1994. I think she's one of the most underrated pop songwriters of the 80's. After that it was that latin disco stuff I'm not a fan of, so now I just have greatest hits on CD.


Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy tagged me to share a few things about myself.. In list form!
What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was 16, so... Almost graduating high school and still being a complete dork.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
I was in Internship at medical school. Excited about graduating for the nth time.

Five snacks you enjoy: 1. Kettle's Brand chips (Salt and Black Pepper or Honey Dijon), 2. French fries with a strawberry shake (preferably McDonald's), 3. Burger of any sort, 4. Spicy noodles, 5. Cake. I'm hungry now.

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire (I assume this is a million dollars, though frankly I'd prefer a million Pounds/Euros right now):
1. Buy a house with a great kitchen
2. Buy a great car (I'm no good with the horseless carriages, so I'll need help thinking of one)
3. Eat my way around the world (actually I think around this point my bank account would be dwindling)
4. Build a hospital
5. Something boring and sensible, like secure the future of my family.

Five (PG-13) bad habits:
1. Checking my mail every 5 minutes (I'm sure that's an exaggeration)
2. Popping a Hershey's miniature in my mouth every hour (I'm sure that's an exaggeration)
3. Exaggeration
4. Procrastinating
5. Too much television

Five things you like doing:
1. Cookin' and bakin'
2. Playin' the piano and singin'
3. Sketchin'
4. Graphic designin'
5. Watchin' them movin' picture box

Five things you would never wear again:
1. Baggy pants
2. Huge shirts
3. Wifebeater (worst name for an item of clothing ever)
4. Jewelry, aside from a ring
5. I dunno... How many things can a guy wear? I'm pretty sure I would wear a kilt if I needed to.

Five favorite toys:
1. My PC and my laptop (with all the accessories: my scanner, my graphic tablet)
2. The XBox
3. Photoshop
4. My keyboards
5. My brother's camera

Lydia of My Kitchen wanted me to share five of my favorite (clean) links. Let'se see... Non-blogger sites I visit...
  • Cake Chef - It's a site completely in Japanese, but if you're learning to make patisserie-style desserts, you will find endless inspiration here.

  • Go Fug Yourself - Sometimes you just need a good chuckle, and the grade-A bitchery from Heather and Jessica for some celebrities just makes my day.

  • Creative Review - I'm always on the lookout for design inspiration. This site showcases the best of UK and around the world; it's also one of my favorite magazines.

  • Television Without Pity - I watch a lot of television, because my brain is full of filth. Here's where I check if my opinions (and snark) are shared by others.

  • Milk and Cookies - A great index of humorous or cool videos and sites, with ratings so you'll know what to skip.

  • blog comments powered by Disqus