Candles and Cakes

I'm not used to celebrating my birthday with parties and gatherings. It's because it falls on the day after All Soul's Day. My friends are usually in the provinces visiting their departed loved ones, or spending their semestral breaks with their families. 

I usually spend my birthday in the province with just Mama and my two siblings (because Papa used to work abroad). We'd hear Mass and then go straight to Zymurgy, the local cafe/restaurant, for dinner. That's usually how my birthday goes.

Thankfully. this year, I was able to spend it with my whole family - including Papa. I consider it a blessing since I haven't celebrated my special day with him since 2004. Another welcome change was spending it here in Quezon City. I didn't go home to visit my departed loved ones in the province because my sister, cousins and I needed to work on something during the long weekend. The last time I spent my birthday here was when I turned 10 years old, I think. 

On my 24th birthday, I went to Mass, spent the day shopping/ window shopping, and had dinner with my close relatives.

What makes me the happiest on my birthday are not the gifts I receive, but the people who remember me on my special day. 

This may sound pathetic, but I used to count the number of people who would greet me via Facebook, Twitter, SMS, and even BBM. I used to feel really giddy when the number of well-wishers increase and bad when they decrease. Don't worry, I don't do that anymore. Haha.

It makes me happy knowing that people take a minute out of their time to send me a text message, a tweet, or a BBM just to wish me a happy birthday. Bawat isang message, may dalang kilig. To show them that I appreciate the effort, I reply to their messages one by one. Kahit nakakapagod. If they took time out to greet me, I should take time out to say thank you, right?

What's important is not how many remember, but that they did. To everyone who remembered, here's a virtual cake and cupcake for you. Thank you for making me feel extra special. Best gift of all :)

To my brother and sister who made sure I had a cake and a candle to blow, I love you both to bits. Wish come true :)

To my parents who fed me with so much on my birthday - love and food alike, I love you to infinity and beyond. Your 24-year-old is a happy kid. With a happy tummy to match :P  

The only thing that made me sad on my day was the realization that I no longer belong to the early 20s age bracket. Hello, mid-20s! :)

Much love,

Gellie

Ikaw at Ako

I'm not really a fan of Tagalog love songs. But just this once I'm making an exception. I found this video of Johnoy Danao's song on YouTube and I loved it! Perfect for pre-nups and same day edits. Tamang emote lang, pero nakakakilig.

Inachieve ko talagang hanapin yung lyrics para mas maisapuso. Charot lang. Here it is:

Ikaw at ako pinagtagpo

Nag-usap ang ating puso

Nagkasundong magsama habang-buhay

Nagsumpaan sa Maykapal

Walang iwanan tag-init o tag-ulan

Haharapin bawat unos na magdaan

Sana'y di magmaliw ang patingin

Kay daling sabihin kay hirap gawin

Sa mundong walang katiyakan

Sabay nating gawing kahapon ang bukas 

Ikaw at ako pinag-isa

Tayong dalawa may kanya-kanya

Sa isa't isa, tayo ay sumasandal

Bawat hangad kayang abutin

Sa pangamba'y di paaalipin

Basta't ikaw, ako , tayo magpakailanman

Kung minsan ay di ko nababanggit

Pag-ibig ko'y hindi masukat ng anumang lambing

At kung magkamali akong ika'y saktan

Puso mo ba'y handang magpatawad

Di ko alam ang gagawin kung mawala ka

Buhay ko'y may kahulugan tuwing ako'y iyong hagkan

Umabot man sa'ting huling hantungan

Kapit-puso kitang hahayaan, ngayon at kailanman, ikaw at ako

_________________________________________________________________________________

My favorite lines are those in bold letters. Aminin natin, may puso yung kanta. And the video is very charming, unpretentious and heartwarming.

Johnoy Danao, I love you for this.

Get the lyrics HERE.

Yakult

I was so bored last night I did this to a bottle of Yakult I was drinking:

It's been a while since I last drank Yakult. And naisip ko lang, bakit ang liit-liit n'ya?! For kids lang ba ang Yakult kaya ang liit? Hello, we drink Yakult, too! And kulang ang ganyan lang. I demand an upsize! Haha. 

Retreat

I've been reading The Third Secret by Steve Berry for days now. It's actually a thriller much like Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. But I got a surprise when I turned the page and found this:

The quote fell out of place in this book, but it made sense, really. It hit me so hard, I just grabbed my phone to take a photo. And I wasted no time posting it on Twitter. Haha. 

For people who find it so hard to let go and move on. Steve Berry's got something on you, huh? :)

For Here

Stalking is made so much easier nowadays! It's already half past one in the morning, and I'm still stalking my barista crush online. Good news! I know na his name! I suppose that's not really big news 'cause I can always approach him at the coffee shop and ask for his name or just take a look at his name tag. But I like a good challenge, so I went online and after half an hour, I got his name! *pats self on the back*

Bad news is: everyone knows him already! Regulars at my favorite coffee place beat me to it! They've all been raving about how good-looking and charming he is. They've already posted blogs about him. Sayang. I thought he was extra friendly to me, but he's like that towards everyone pala. Ilusyonada kasi ako. Haha. 

Oh, well. I still have another barista crush. And I can always stalk the other regulars.

I kid.

Third Place

I'm a homebody. I don't like leaving the house. I'm not gala, layas, lakwatsera, or ma-gimik like most people my age. I'd rather stay at home and watch television, read paperbacks, or surf the Internet. It's usually just school-bahay-school-bahay for me. I do go out during weekends, but that's often just to buy groceries, or go window shoppping. Yes, I'm as boring as they come.

But lately, I've been having a hard time staying at home to study my lessons. I always end up sleeping on the bed, cause that's usually where I read my books. My sister is actually fond of calling me "Masa" because of this. "Masa" stands for "masandal, tulog." Which is true! I can sleep any time, anywhere. I tried using a table to study, but I ended up placing my head on top of it, and just dozing off. So, a week before my midterm exams, I finally decided to drag myself out of the house to study somewhere else where I am in no danger of falling asleep.

I've been coming to this coffee shop near our place for sometime now. Ate and I tried studying there together in January, but we weren't very successful. Well, she was, but I wasn't. I decided to give it another shot two weeks ago. I found a table by the corner, bought myself a cup of coffee, and started studying. Surprisingly, I got a lot of studying done. From then on, whenever I feel like I really need to focus, I leave the  house, and go to this coffee shop - my third place.

By the way, I got the term "third place" from an old Starbucks planner. A third place is a spot you frequent aside from your house and your school/office.

This picture was taken during one of my study dates with Ate.

I remember telling my cousin how ridiculous it is to study in coffee shops because those places are often crowded and filled with social climbers. Some people like going to Starbucks or CBTL just to take pictures of themselves while sipping their 150-peso cup of coffee. Now, I wanna say sorry for my misguided beliefs. I take back everything I said.

It's actually okay to study there because they have spots intended for people who wanna do just that - study.   Most of the people there are also hitting the books. Some are holding meetings; others are just killing time. People aren't loud, and the place isn't as noisy as I thought it would be. The fact that the staff is very accommodating didn't hurt either.

But, as happy as I am about my progress there, I think I need to find a new third place. I don't want to make a habit of spending more than half of my daily allowance for coffee and pastries, just so I can avoid falling asleep at home. I need to find a place that's just as conducive to studying, but won't totally rob me of my savings. Any suggestions? :)

Dine In: Five Cows

Metro Manila has been experiencing some serious rain these past few days. And because classes get suspended almost every other day, I've been stuck at home watching Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy. Yes, I didn't quite understand The Dark Knight Rises, so I had to watch the first two films, which didn't disappoint, by the way. The only time I was able to go out was last Saturday, but even then it was raining hard in the city. Ay naku, kebs. Being stranded inside the mall was so much better than being cooped up at home.

Ate and I went to Five Cows for lunch. The last time we were there was four or five years ago. Sobrang tagal na. I remember, we met this very nice waiter there named Brian. He was so accommodating, that when they asked us to fill up a suggestion form, we recommended that he be promoted to the position of manager. Haha. Sadly, I didn't see him there last time. Baka he changed his career path already. Anyway, we've always wondered why this cute little resto and ice cream bar is named that way. And until now, we haven't come up with a decent answer. Isa lang naiisip namin na reason: you'll end up feeling like you weigh as heavy as five cows after eating their yummy food. And devouring their heavenly ice cream cakes!

Chicken Fingers and Fries with Salsa and Garlic Dip

Liempo with Java Rice. Believe me, two people can eat this. Parang for lunch and dinner na!

To die for S'mores Ice Cream Cake

Forgive me for the orange-y pictures. I really don't know how to adjust my camera settings. Anyway, the food still looks good diba? Kain construction worker kami ni Ate, and true enough, we felt as big and heavy as five cows. Haha. I'd definitely go back for more, especially for their ice cream cakes. The good thing is, they serve the cakes in slices so you don't have to worry about buying a whole cake that'll just melt in a couple of hours.

What I look forward to trying on my next visit: the Baked Spinach and Cheese Spread, the Flaming Alaska and the Ferrero Crunch Supreme.

Five Cows is really a happy place for dessert lovers like me! Happy eating! :)