I know I'm forty

When I started to believe that 20 was the new 40, I knew I was (a) in trouble, and (b) I have reached the golden age of 40 and there was no looking back. The start of the year was a sure firestarter - literally, the first night of the year was the first major headache I had, literally. I never had headaches before - for me, it was everyone's lousy excuse to play hokey or something. I had the first of the weird headaches that I was going to suffer EVERYTIME I slept after midnight. It wasn't so much trouble that I knew this won't happen had I slept earlier. The problem is, when I hit 40, my insomnia began peaking. Well, so much for bad luck and bad health. From now on, every night will be a race to midnight, knowing when I will suffer that morning headache and when I will not. Now I know I am forty.... yet i like it. This will not take the 20 out of my 40th. More on this as I trudge on with my happy life!

bigboy promises to get back to you soon with new news! nunus!

Fantastic Pinoy Restaurant hidden in (of all places) The Block

If you are looking for honest to goodness really good Pinoy food, then you should come visit The Block at SM City North Edsa. Nestled at the fifth floor of The Block, in the same floor as Fitness First, and sitting comfortably in a quiet, little, obscure corner is a Filipino restaurant called X/O or "Extraordinary Philippines". The place is small, diminutive, even, for a full-service real deal Filipino restaurant. The big thing about this place is that they serve really great-tasting home-cooked style Pinoy fare.

Barring the fact that I went there straight from a major presentation at work (in Makati), to have a dinner meeting with another client, I would say that the taste and ambience experience is surprisingly pleasant.

We started off with crunchy cornick and peanuts (and it's not stale, unlike other restaurants) which were given to us without asking, we ordered Binagoongang Liempo, Pinakbet (the Ilocano kind with crunchy bagnet chunks on top), Boneless Bangus Salpicado and Chorizo Rice.

Now, for the Binagoongang Liempo, it is actually cooked adobo style and the bagoong was conscientiously set as side dish (which is great for me). You can, however, still taste the bagoong in the meat, but it wasn't an intrusive measure - it sorts of blends perfectly with the soft morsels of meat. And it came with a whole pisngi of fresh green mango - meat and fruit in one. Yippee! The dish was sublime, with the meat gently melting in your mouth - just right, not dry, not soggy, the kind that you know was slow-cooked the right way.

The Pinakbet was also very good - except for the fact that the vegetables were a bit soggy, the taste, nevertheless was perfect, not too salty, not too bland and the sitaws making up for the lack of crunchiness. All in all, it was the best-tasting pinakbet I have had in the past two to three months (well, second, of course, to my mom's or dad's pinakbet kapampangan style).

The Salpicado Bangus was a novel fare - it was the first time I saw it. Salpicado means "splashed" or "sprinkled" with something (peppered, usually). The bangus came with a light soy  sauce, Chinese style. And it wasn't anything like Bangus, and i mean that in a good way!

The Piece de resistance was the Chorizo Rice. Now fried rice should be easy to make, by anyone's standard. But believe me when I say, if you are not careful, it can just as easily become a disaster. This was truly a great rice dish, in that it doesn't do battle in your taste buds with the "ulams" - though it does stand on its own and keeps its taste, blending well with any viand.

So there you go! Our meeting lasted for two hours and the food was really great, which made the meeting great! Great food, nice, quiet surroundings, the best combination for a nice meal.

bigboy promises to get back to you soon with new news! nunus!

Moo!!!

Moo!!!
Originally uploaded by titusarce

This is the real deal, farmville! Taken at Batangas, the scenery is 100% bucolic and the cows (and other animals), big, healthy and contented. And it's just an hour and a half from muggy, smoggy Manila.

Thank God for places like these that are fast disappearing from the landscape of the Metropolis. I hope we can keep more of these and try to preserve our farmlands from the invasion of subdivisions and suburban development.

Resolution in progress!

_MG_7965
Originally uploaded by titusarce

Yup I am using my dslr again. Testing it just to make sure it is working. Took this in our pocket garden at the new section of our home. I'll be posting more pictures as they come, hopefully images worth looking at, hehehe!

Fifteen Reasons to Love Conan O'Brien :: Blogs :: List of the Day :: Paste

Fifteen Reasons to Love Conan O'Brien :: Blogs :: List of the Day :: Paste

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Cooler and longer... the night that is.

The Enterprise Center, Makati, Philippines
Originally uploaded by titusarce

It's getting darker earlier. It's funny weather for the Philippines, since the cold nights should have set in earlier by December. It's still good to see though, that we will have cooler nights ahead and longer nights. Good night, Manila!

How to Make Your Bed The Rest of Your Life: GQ.com

How to Make Your Bed The Rest of Your Life: GQ.com

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strange day

malabong araw. dami work, little play, back to back meetings but great team. saya na may konting suya. haaaaay. will work hard for the money but will work harder to play. that should be everyone's goal. saturday is looming, or should we say, peeking. yahoo!!! almost time to rest, recuperate and be with friends and family. I'm rambling - this day is strange. It's like i have tunnel vision the whole time. I am focused but in most cases, i felt everything was happening while i was just observing. really strange. I felt like an observer. by the way, two more days and fringe na naman!!!

another strange thing - there's onions growing in our chiller. literally. hmmmm....maybe it's time to clean up for real...bigboy promises to get back to you soon with new news! nunus!

First workday of the year ends

View of our office building from Ayala Avenue

And so it ends - the first workday of the year. They say the trend of the whole year can be glimpsed on how the first day transpired. Well it was dreadful at first light, then promising, then frantic, then really busy then ended bright and ok. It wasn't bad at all. In fact it was great! I guess it will be great for our company then. I have high hopes for this year, for our company and for the country. A good start is just what it is - a good start. It's really up to us how it will go and end. So I say, here is to the new year!!!! A year of great promise, great energy and fantastic colleagues who are also great friends, love from family and loved ones and another chance to change leadership in our dear country - which is a great promise in itself. It is up to us, so let's go for it! Whoop whoop!! I say to everyone, let's make the good start a good year! thank God for a new year!

bigboy promises to get back to you soon with new news! nunus!

typhoon Pepeng (Parma) 2

typhoon Pepeng (Parma) 2
Originally uploaded by titusarce

A shot of the brewing typhoon Parma last October. Here's hoping there won't be any over-the-top typhoons this year. We've had enough of this last year. Happy New Year!

stupid and stubborn 2

stupid and stubborn 2
Originally uploaded by titusarce

well, well, well, if it isn't stupid titus. no one should do this at home or anywhere else. forgive me, while i am a staunch supporter for the "No fireworks of any kind during Christmas season", I was guilty of playing with "fire", so to speak. I hope less and less people play with these dangerous things in the coming year's celebration. I, for one, promise to stay away from it completely. Happy New Year!

New Year Full Moon!

full moon on new year's eve! hope this is a good sign of brighter things to come for the world!!!

bigboy promises to get back to you soon with new news! nunus!

My "Bakit" list for 2010

Bakit? Why? Why a list when you probably will forget it after a month? Well, before the year ends, I will make a new list for 2010. And no one can stop me, Yeah!

For 2010, since it is just around the corner, i have a list of 10 things I promise to do/finish/accomplish/achieve. Here we go! (teketetenktenk! - to the beat of Hey Boy Hey Girl of Chemical Brothers, hehehe)

1. I will stop smoking (see image. nuff said.)

2. I will bike again (see my bike? it's with all the crap i keep hoarding!)

3. I will take more photos (see #2 - same with my dslr)

4. I will travel more WITHIN THE PHILIPPINES...enough with giving money to other countries...i hope...

5. I will read more books (I have more unread books than read ones)

6. I will post more in my blog (hehehe...)

7. I will buy the Batpod scale model (saw one at Yamashiroya at Ueno, Tokyo. Just looked, didn't buy, now having wet dreams about it, hahaha!)

8. I will take my home renovation seriously - and this will include blood, sweat and tears and lots of money!!!! But first, a real architectural plan is in order - calling on my architect!!! Hans!!!

9. I will eat better....hmmmm... this has something to do with my blood sugar and cholesterol levels. (In which case, here is a sample of recycled food from the Christmas eve dinner - lechon turned into sisig, courtesy of my wonderful Dad! Who can resist this? It's lechon sisig - two wonderful things rolled into one - what more can you ask for??!!)

10. I will have more muscles literally. Well, we'll see about that!

Yes, we'll see about all these soon!  Happy New Year, folks!

bigboy promises to get back to you soon with new news! nunus!

New Year in two days!!!

I can't believe it is 2010. Some people say that 2012 is just around the corner and the end will happen on that year. Can't tell everyone enough that only God knows the time when everything will come to an end. I hope that people will focus more on their relationship with God - perhaps if we all do that, then the world will be a better place and we wouldn't have to worry about what will happen if the world indeed ends! I am also part of this blunder - i am a worry wart and it's good that most of the time, i can check myself, push myself and tell myself, hey, God said not to worry and that you cannot add or change anything by worrying. So this next year, there will be no worries for me! God is in control, no matter what situation we are in. We have to trust him that we are ok, and focus on why we are here - which is quite simply, doing God's purpose. The only way we would know is to get to know Him! Part of my resolution this year is to re-ignite my passion for God! That i will do! And by declaring it here, I am committing myself to it! Happy New Year to everyone! Thank God it's another year!

Merry Christmas, world!

This year has truly been one of the most trying and the most telling for me. Typhoons eat into the very fiber of the Pinoys' strength, famous people passing away, loved ones passing away, friends moving on and realizations rushing in full force, sometimes debilitating me. Whew! but it was also a good year of friends and loved ones, family love, fears conquered, relationships getting stronger and God always watching, no matter what and no matter what spiritual or mental state I am in. I am glad that this year passed and i am glad that this year is finally over - a new year is here in a few days! ready for the taking! and as part of my commitment for next year, my blog will be filled in a more regular basis! catch you on a weekly basis starting this week. To all (and I am not sure if someone has actually looked into my blog), my best wishes for the coming year - may you have the inner strength, the faith and the fortitude to carry on, whatever the circumstance and stay joyful and kind to each other and to the world that God gave us! Merry Christmas and a happy new year!