Down the Rabbit Hole

I drove up to the Solaire Theatre to watch the Blue Man Group's performance. I was excited to see the group perform because people kept saying that they're a really fun group to watch. The advertisements promised a combination of rock concert, theatre performance, comedy, and dance party in one night. Too bad everyone else I know wasn't available to go with me to watch this... It was going to be a great night, I knew it! Would have been even better if I weren't alone though. As the house lights dimmed, instructions flashed above the stage. I thought that they were just regular courtesy reminders because they initially went along like this:  Don't take photos and videos.  This show has no intervals; it is not advisable to go out of the theatre once the show has started. This performance uses strobe lights. This performance uses recycled paper. But then the messages became downright funny: Don't take selfies. Don't take a photo of the ...

I've always wanted to bring Lola Bats to one of my favourite restaurants, The Black Pig , ever since I started eating there. Each time I had dinner there, I'd ask if there was an elevator so Lola could go on her wheelchair. At this point, Lola Bats was months into her 100th year and so she could not walk far or stand up for a long time so the escalator was out of the question. Also, I didn't dare bring Lola Bats out of the house by myself anymore; it's best to bring her with her helper, Mary Ann.  Kuya Eldie and Richelle  were with me too because the more, the merrier. It's difficult for me to drive up to Lola's house at rush hour because of the parking lot that is Alabang-Zapote Road so Kuya Eldie and Richelle picked up Lola and Mary Ann and then used the elevator with Lola in a wheelchair. When the elevator doors opened and Lola noticed that she was in an upscale shopping area, she kept asking Mayaman ba tayo? (Are we rich?). She kept repeating that when...

One of my favourite news items was the miracle airplane landing on the Hudson River . I first heard about it on CNN. My jaw dropped and I got goosebumps when I saw photos of the passengers queued on the wings of the plane while rescuers loaded them as fast as they could into boats. I was particularly happy about this news item because it came a few years after that fateful day in September 2001, when two planes crashed into the two towers of the World Trade Centre .  And so when one of my classmates at the Alliance Française de Manille said that a movie was made out of that story, I just had to watch it. Learning that Tom Hanks top-billed the film sealed the deal for me. I got determined to watch it on the big screen. He portrayed Captain Chelsey Sullenberger while Aaron Eckhart played First Officer Jeff Skiles; both of these pilots were seen as heroes for making a controlled water landing on the Hudson River that led to 155 lives rescued, after US Airways 1549's engines were...

Yes, in under one hour! Four years ago, I finished renewing my car's registration in under two hours . But this year is the record breaker: I was able to finish renewing my car's registration in 45 minutes. I was amazed at the streamlined process! I just have to thank the efficient staff at the Land Transportation Office's (LTO) Calamba Satellite Office! So here's what happened: 1515H: I arrived at the LTO and was directed by a security guard to a nearby certified car emission              testing centre (a few metres away from the LTO). I was told to hurry up to reach the cut-off              time. 1535H: I finished the car emission test, purchased a compulsory third-party liability insurance policy,              and one of the emission guys finished stenciling the car's engine information. 1546H: An inspection officer assessed my car's headlights, taillights, brake ligh...

I have always been very excited to watch an Apple product launch because it's always a master class in public speaking and in the art of creating the slide deck for one's presentation. Back when Steve Jobs was still at the helm, he was able to capture the audience in a "reality distortion field" because he was such a charismatic storyteller. Since Tim Cook stepped in to fill the Jobs shoes, I've been waiting for him to come to his own. So far, however, he's trying to do a Steve Jobs but he something's missing from his presentation style: I don't get hooked to the story. In fact, I fell asleep during the live broadcast and again when I watched it a second time!  Then again, I might not be in the market for new tech gadgets so the topic itself wasn't exciting for me. I'll just wait for the iOS update. However, I'm expecting that not a few people are interested in the gadgets because some of the earlier models are being made obsol...

I was invited by students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines' (PUP) BSc Food Technology seminar course as a resource person. Because I arrived early at the Hasmin Hostel, the venue of the seminar, I thought it would be a good time to eat lunch. The students who welcomed me brought me to this restaurant, run by Hotel and Restaurant Management students, called #Hugot Cafe. How mainstream and trendy, I thought. The students probably were banking on the popularity  of the plethora of films addressing the pain and the feeling of hopelessness caused by break-ups and unrequited love. Very interesting. Once seated at my table, I was pleasantly surprised by the options in the menu. I opted to try PORksteakEBER (pork chop stewed in soy sauce and calamansi, paired with rice and buttered vegetables) as my main dish and chocOPTION LANG (brownie ala mode with ube ice cream instead of vanilla) as my dessert. I also got Third Party (iced tea... Took some time to get the pla...

A photo posted by Rochie Cuevas (@rochiecuevas) on May 6, 2016 at 6:10pm PDT Photo taken by Anna. This year, Mommy's birthday coincides with the canonisation of Mother Teresa, known for her works of charity for the poor and the suffering in Calcutta. My mom is not a saint, unlike Mother Teresa, and is not a miracle-worker either but she makes sure that we are all taken care of when we're sick. She has a lot of "lifehacks" for solving minor discomforts: use a ladle as a massager for indigestion or when the stomach feels too full; castor oil for various joint aches and pains; avocado leaf infusion for shortness of breath; sinuam for hyperacidity... and who can forget Katinko? I carry a small tub of it with me all the time! She taught me that it's helpful for a variety of painful situations; from headaches to insect bites to sprained ankles to fractured wrists (I am not kidding). To my family's source of uncanny solutions for minor ache...