“And now I can’t tell you how proud I am that forever the character of Patrick is Ezra Miller, and Sam is Emma Watson, and Charlie is Logan Lerman, forever. It’s the greatest thing in the world.” -Stephen Chbosky

The Summer I Turned Fat Because of Food Everywhere

UPDATED (10:30 PM): My bad, my bad! I edited this post again because of traces of literal ambiguity. One rule in writing: never rush and always double check before publishing to make sure it will captivate potential readers. 

Yep, you just read the title of this post.Now I’m back in the Philippines and ready to bolt to school tomorrow morning, I will not go to bed tonight without telling you about my food escapades with my parents over the vacation. Bear with me for I will narrate the whole tale in non-chronological order. 

May 18 = Dinner at Marche in VivoCity! A restaurant based in Switzerland, the cuisine is not only appetizing but also healthy. As a result of a very satisfying meal, one of my newest wishes is for Marche to open here in the Philippines.

The best Spanish paella I’ve ever tasted since the one in Illustrado (located in Intramuros)

My main course: roasted chicken, mashed potato, and garlic bread

Family-sized pasta salad 

Pork sausages 

Choco banana crepe 

May 19 = My dad and I went to Orchard for a lunch at Botak Jones. The photo you’ll see below is my meal: cajun chicken, spicy crinkle cut fries, and corn on the cob. Originally the fries was supposed to be non-spicy but the waitress made a mistake so as an act of compensation she gave us a free platter of fries. Yum! 

On the Friday prior to the above-mentioned days (May 17), my mom and I accompanied my dad in Expo to claim his race pack for May 31’s annual Sundown race. Another main purpose for our visit there was to grab a bite of Texas Chicken which is personally one of my top three favorite fastfood chains with the best chicken. KFC and Popeye’s also serve their rightful spots in the said distinction. 

In lieu of Mother’s Day, we celebrated it with a dinner at Brotzeit German Bar and Restaurant. Up there was a touring band who came all the way from Germany to perform for the customers. The food took a while to arrive; however, we were able to enjoy the rest of the evening thanks to pompous spice of Europe’s finest.  

Germany’s world-famous pork knuckle 

After chomping on one of the sausages we ordered, I was able to fully understand why Germany is famous for that meal alone. 

Bacon pizza, my favorite of the bunch

Brotzeit menu

My soda glass clinked with dad’s beer pitcher as a toast to everything lovely in this planet. 

P.S. Last Friday, I watched The Fast and The Furious 6 with my dad then mom followed us to eat at Kenny Rogers’ Roasters. Yesterday, I returned to Manila after a month and five days’ absence. It was not complete without a lunch at Pizza Hut in Changi Airport before my scheduled departure. We were so nice to one of the waiters he gave us a free stub for one of their promos. Woohoo!

P.S. 2.  First day of majors tomorrow! I am so stoked for this school year :) 

Starstruck? Just Read The Story. (UPDATED)

BLOGGER’S NOTE: Celebrities can never please everyone. No matter what they do, there will always be people who will jeer or cheer for them. The purpose of this entry is to share a firsthand encounter with known people in addition to my personal opinion about them. If you are a big fan of whoever I’ll be talking about later on, I hope you will understand that like many others I dislike them for certain reasons. However, if you cannot tolerate any negative remarks towards your idols, I want you to accept the reality they will have 50% fans and 50% haters for the rest of their careers. You’re welcome!

I planned to write about this in March right after the encounter happened. Consequently, my schedule was so preoccupied I failed to share this in public. For the first time in two months, I am out here to tell you that I met this group of celebrities which I failed to tweet or post a status at the time.

Last March 9, a day after my dad’s arrival in the Philippines for a short vacation, we were in SM Dasmarinas to buy dinner for Tita Janet and her family. Then all of a sudden, we found ourselves in the commotion of teenage girls huddling together in the supermarket entrance. Curiousity attacked us in a heartbeat. I wondered, “What the hell is going on and why are there a bunch of girls blocking our way?" Moments later we saw the same girls offering their cellphone numbers to this guy in a rainbow cap, hipster glasses, board shorts, and a pair of Havaianas. Something led me to look left…and guess who had their mall show on that day? Believe it or not, the guy being swarmed by those girls was a member of…

CHICSER! 

(Photo credit from a Facebook page)

Hold on for a second! Chic-who? Hearing the name would make you think they’re a Filipino rap group. But no! In fact, they are six self-proclaimed Internet sensations who got media attention by showing off their looks on Twitter and Instagram. Their selfies got so many retweets and likes they began to trend in the Philippines every freaking day which was made responsible by their fans’ constant spamming on everyone’s timeline. And as expected, there were a lot of people who tweeted their annoyance towards those underserving trending topics. 

Then again, the tarpaulin placed on the stage at SM Dasmarinas just informed mall-goers about Chicser’s mall show that day. Aside from the guy in hipster glasses, I came across another group of girls in a circle complimenting another guy who was also a member of the boy band. Just like this other member, he was also wearing hipster glasses except that his face was ghastly white and he was dressed like a hilbilly from Partridge Farm. Meanwhile as for their female fans, some of them were crying upon seeing their beloved idols for they got their mobile numbers and personal Facebook profiles. I even overheard one of them saying, "Thank you for giving me your number, promise ko itetext kita araw-araw 24/7!”  Obsessed much? Inside the supermarket, I saw a number of them doing duckfaces in front of the cameras and the rest of the shoppers in sight. Yay.

Another sighting of Chicser fans was in Pizza Hut when I passed by this girl holding a glittery fan sign with the words “Marry me (insert member’s name here)!” As soon as she was out of sight, my dad was laughing so hard his face turned the color of tomatoes. Later we were in the parking lot when we saw another group of teenage girls but this time they were screaming their lungs out at the sight of the six Chicser members. Both my dad and I were looking at them in disgust not only because the fans were so flirty. Simply it’s because we cannot believe our eyes as we witnessed them swooning over those six guys in hilbilly / hip-hop clothing matched with foundation-covered faces. Ayayayayayayayay! Inside the car, the conversation went like this: 

Dad: Sino yang pinagkakaguluhan na yan kanina?

Me: This boy band na sumikat sa Instagram at Twitter yong Chicser ba yon?

Dad: Anong klaseng pangalan yan? Kadiri naman bakit sikat mga yan mukhang naman silang mga tricycle driver at padyak boy na tambay sa kalye na naka-foundation! (we laugh hysterically) 

Me: Napakacheap naman ng taste ng mga fans nila! Ewan ko ba bakit nagmamall tour ang mga yon palibhasa kasi feeling nila sikat na sila kaya pa-SM SM na sila! Grabe na talaga ang kajejehan ngayon!

And that is how I accidentally saw Chicser in person. What is so special about Chicser anyway? All I could see about them is they are only famous (are they really?) because of their constant flooding of their selfies on everyone’s social feed for the girls to love and the boys to envy. Of course they generated a massive amount of attention in social media beginning with the spamming of Twitter trends related to them redundantly shoving down the throats of almost every Twitter user in the Philippines. This is the primary reason why I always set my trending topics to worldwide. Aside from other annoying topics, I definitely would not want to see #Chicser on the list. As a result of their instant popularity, Viva Records offered them a record deal and now they have an album in record bars nationwide.

Oddly enough, GMA 7’s Party Pilipinas announced their cancellation hours after Chicser’s album launch. To make matters worse, they are scheduled to have a concert later this month. Twitterverse held hand in hand and cried when the news first broke out. 

Can somebody explain to me why they have a gigantic billboard over EDSA? I watched their music video and my Internet browser crashed at the 1-minute mark. For all those who are having thoughts of viewing it, please don’t for you will suffer from nosebleeds due to its Taglish lyrics. Plus, all they’re doing there is jumping like monkeys in the bed. Bow. 

Let’s not forget their loyal fans who call themselves “Chiserrifics”. Some of them are just plain pathetic. Some of them can be deemed as “trying hard” for their bad English while attacking anyone who defames their idols. Most importantly, some of them left their morals in the dust in exchange of seeking attention from Chicser. I came across this Facebook page and felt disgusted to see these posts from their fans:

Never in my life have I seen a fan who wishes death upon a parent so no one would stop her from meeting her idol. Never in a million years have I heard a story about a fan who ran away from home just because her mom refused to give her cash to buy their album. Their obsession just went beyond the borderline and it’s sad.

Here are more fans showing their undying love for Chicser:

This fan may have taken a page out of a badly-written hundred word essay on “What makes you happy?”. The difference of “your” and “you’re” is probably the number one rule to remember in English grammar, dear. 

Somewhere in the cemetery, the country’s national heroes are rolling on their graves.

Word is that Rihanna’s next single will be entitled “Shine Bright Like A Demond (Diamonds Part 2)” after she saw this tweet from a beloved Chicser fan. Reports surfaced that the sultry pop singer was completely abashed over the fan’s spelling of one of her hit songs.

Um, again? Like I said in the beginning, every celebrity will always have its share of fans and haters. 

If Chicser is so popular only because they’re on the top of the trends everyday, then why can’t they sell out their records despite having a red and gold edition? Internet fame does not always equate to the real world. 

See Chicserrifics? Stop acting like they’re the hottest celebrities in the Philippines because *in Cherie Gil voice from the movie Bituing Walang Ningning* they’re nothing but second-rate trying hard copycats of the world’s biggest boybands. Heck, they don’t deserve all the hype they’re getting at this moment. Everything about them is sub-par compared to all the artists who are waiting to be in the limelight yet don’t get enough credit. There are a lot of boys outside showbiz who are way more charismatic and talented than the Chicser members. Like other instant wonders before them, the attention turned towards them will without a doubt fade in a matter of time most especially when people start to realize they have nothing to offer besides their appearances. Remember Rebecca Black? She gained worldwide fame through “Friday”, got a record deal, and then she was gone of the public eye within six months. In showbusiness, good looks can catapault you quickly to the top but having little to no talent won’t make you last long in the industry. 

Chicser’s downiright bothersome fans in addition to them being overrated and overhyped by the media made me dislike the band. Additionally, seeing them by chance in person led me to the conclusion there are some people who don’t deserve a single drop of fame in their hands. I’ve heard other stories about the boyband but I’d rather let you search it over the web. Lastly, I’ve never heard of a fanbase as atrocious as the Chicserrifics. To all those reading this, I advise you not to replace your family and friends over your celebrity idols. 

Peace out. 

A Weekend at Bintan

What’s summer without setting foot on the beach sands? My mom’s friend Tita Tes invited us to join her family for a weekend at Nirwana Resorts in Bintan, Indonesia last May 4 and 5. The invitation was a greenlight for my newly-acquired SLR to capture cannot-miss moments.  A ferry took us to and from Bintan, and to add the excitement it was also my first time to travel by sea.

On my first term of majoring this coming May, I am planning to take up FOTOCOM (Basic Photography) to hone my shooting prowess. For the time being, without a doubt my skills are currently sitting on amateur level at best. In spite of this, at least I was able to make pretty decent shots. Now let me not prolong your agony and may the pictures do the storytelling! 

Even the resort cannot tolerate the stench of durians, eh? 

A golf cart escorted us to the villa where we stayed the entire weekend. How cool is that?

Suria 2, the villa where we stayed in

Five letters, two pics, one word. Can you guess what it is? 

Vanity photos to show how much fun I had over the holiday. I have more of these among others, but I would allow Facebook to do the job in its entirety. 

Side story about my mom: when she saw the photos I took of her using my SLR, she shed tears of joy. I could vividly recall her exclamation, “Ang ganda ko naman pag nakukuhanan ako sa SLR mo!" 

Liempo, quesadillas, kebab, and Indian mangoes for dinner! 

Before we bid adieu to Nirwana Resorts and Bintan, my mom and I assured we would not leave without a souvenir with the ginormous (statue) elephants. Soon this image will be used in future circulations of Bintan postcards. Kiddin’! 

Oh, did I tell you it was there where I first experienced being inside the sauna room? Truly, it was an exhilarating experience for the ages especially I came out of it sweating like a pig. Nevertheless, fifteen minutes of being in the sauna made my mind and body more serene than ever before! 

Bintan is so lovely I would love to go back there if given the chance. I bet it is unanimously the marquee event of Summer 2013!