Four Things

GHR-L "tagged me" in one of her notes on Facebook. As per Facebook etiquette, upon a "tag", I am supposed to replicate the same note, just with my own responses. I'm too shy to post this on FB, so here are my "Four Things":

A) FOUR JOBS I'VE HAD IN MY LIFE (just like GHR-L, all law related):
1. Lawyer
2. Teacher
3. Researcher
4. Intern

B) FOUR MOVIES I WOULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AND OVER (don't judge):
1. The Thomas Crown Affair
2. Legally Blond
3. Serendipity
4. Pretty Woman

C) FOUR PLACES WHERE I HAVE/WILL LIVE/D:
1. Manila
2. New York
3. Hong Kong
4. Boston? Chicago?

D) FOUR TV SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Brother's and Sisters
3. How I Met Your Mother
4. Entourage

E) FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION:
1. Beijing
2. Moscow
3. Boracay
4. Kuala Lumpur

F) FOUR WEBSITES I VISIT DAILY:
1. NYT
2. Facebook
3. Abovethelaw.com
4. Does Gmail count?

G) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:
1. Chicken nuggets
2. Foie gras
3. Lechon
4. Chicharon!

H) FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1. I could be in New Manila for the evening, but I'd want to
2. be in Hong Kong for the day, then
3. pick up the Wugga boo from day care in Boston,
4. then be back in New Manila for dinner.

I) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE PERFUMES
1. I only buy one bottle at a time. So the one I'm using now is Kenneth Cole (Woman)
2. before that was something made by Escada
3. before that was Johnson's Baby Cologne (Blue)
4. before that I didn't need perfume

J) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE MUSICALS
1. Rent
2. Avenue Q
3. Les Miserables
4. Turandot (do operas count?)

K) FOUR FRIENDS WHO I THINK WILL RESPOND: Not applicable

L) FOUR FAMOUS PEOPLE I WOULD LOVE TO MEET - DEAD OR ALIVE (assuming they speak English) :
1. Jesus
2. Michaelangeo
3. Da Vinci
4. Buddha or Confucius (since I mix them up all the time anyway)

M) FOUR THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY:
1. being with loved ones
2. being independent
3. a good book
4. the beach

3.5k, 32 mins 30 seconds

I've been keeping up the gym thing and I think I'm getting stronger. I still can't run to save my life, but now I can run/walk 3.5 kilometers with little effort.

Yay!

Spolier alert

The last time I read spoilers (or spent any time trawling for spoilers) was back in high school. R and I were obsessed with the American soap opera General Hospital and so we'd buy magazines (like Soap Opera Digest) to find out how the plot would develop. It was cute back then, two teen-aged girls crazy about an Australian man with bad hair, scouring through magazine racks in second hand book shops, looking for an obscure rag (yes, back in the 80's in the suburbs of Manila, Soap Opera Digest would be considered obscure).

Now it would be pathetic. Imagine a 34-year old begging off from fancy dinners and adult conversation to spend a few hours trying to find out what happens next on Grey's Anatomy... and I don't mean I do that... I just said, "imagine".

Anyway, thank god for the Internet; now I don't have to go out in public to look for spoilers. I just need Google. And if you must know, Grey's Anatomy is in haitus until April 23; Brothers and Sisters is off until April 19 and Entourage has started shooting its sixth season.

Pintuang dilaw

One of my favorite restaurants in Hong Kong is this place called Yellow Door. It's in the 6th floor of decrepit building and seats only 40 people. It probably seats only 15, but the owners squeeze in 40 people.

The menu has only two pages and when you order a Coke, they hand you a can and a straw. It's *that* kind of place.

But my goodness, the food. The food just tastes so good. It's Szechuan with a Shanghainese twist and every dish I've tried so far has been superb. It's either technically superior (like their chicken in dried chili) or surprising and innovative (like their eggplant in chili).

If you're ever in Hong Kong, remind me to take you here.

BPI Phonebanking from outside the RP

For those of you who keep your BPI Express Teller cards alive to pay Manila bills even while living abroad (like moi), I've found useful set of numbers that you can use to access the BPI Phonebanking/EPS system from outside the Philippines.

You're welcome.

Books I read in '09

With the first quarter over (yes, the dates of this blog have no meaning), I am happy to report that I am keeping with my 3 books in two month quota. In fact, I'm about a book and a half (or one month) ahead. So far I've read the following:

1. Mere Anarchy, Woody Allen
2. I Feel Bad About About My Neck, Nora Ephron
3. Flying Leap, Judy Budnitz
4. Better, Atul Gawande
5. How They Met (and other stories), David Levithan
6. Why I'm Like This, Cynthia Kaplan

I'm currently reading Thisbe Nissen's Osprey Island and when I'm done with that, I'll move to The Maytrees byAnnie Dillard.

Speaking of airlines...

If you fly between Hong Kong and Manila regularly, you can aslo try Dragonair and Philippine Airlines (in addition to Cathay Pacific). Both these airlines offer on-line booking.

Dragonair competes with Cebu Pac prices, but doesn't have a Manila-Hong Kong flight on Sundays, so that's a drag. If you're willing to fly on Monday morning, fare is as good (maybe even cheaper) than Cebu Pac.

PAL has good schedules and competitive prices, but I don't fly PAL on account of their ugly website and stupid booking procedure (i.e., You can't pick outbound and inbound flights separately. PAL combines the flights for you and you're supposed to pick from the different sets. I refuse to participate in such stupidity.)

The other CP

I've had enough of Cebu Pacific.

It's not the mishandled luggage that bothers me. It's the 90 minutes of fear that grips my heart when I'm on board one of their flights. The A320's just seem too small for the trip across the South China Sea.

And while I will always be grateful of Lance Gokongwei and the people at Cebu Pacific who have made travel accessible to "Every Juan", my days of traveling on Cebu Pacific are over.

I've booked the next flight home via Cathay. It's more expensive, but the relief is worth every cent.

Five weekends of March

1 -- work. In this market, this is a *very* good thing.

2 -- chill. Watched a Canto play on Saturday and Lisa Ono on Sunday.

3 -- Republic of China. Taiwan is like Hong Kong. Just bigger, cheaper, and less interesting.

4 -- work. See above.

5 -- chill. Badminton, dimsum, flat hunting.

The Fray - You Found Me - Acoustic

My favorite song (for now)