What's the big deal with adolescence?

When I was growing up, there was much ado over adolescence, how it's a difficult stage of one's development. How one will feel lost and confused and because of that will likely become depressed and withdrawn. How it is very important for parents and teachers to be sensitive to an adolescent's issues.

Um, I've been 14 and really, there is no big deal. Really. Move along people, there's nothing to see here.

Around that time I remember growing breasts and realizing I would not be able to play basketball anymore. Which I found sad for a little while, but then I quickly snapped out it. I remember growing hips and needing a new uniform for school, but again, not a life altering issue. Actually, no. It was. Back then everything was a life-altering issue. Will I get that new Trapper Keeper? Will R. be able to tape today's episode of General Hospital? Will Menudo come to the Philippines?!

I don't really understand what the big deal is. All adolescence is is advanced childhood.

My favorite song (for now)

Kings Of Leon singing Use Somebody. The song reminds me of music from my youth. A little U2ish, a little Rick Springfield-ish.

Bumped up to business

I think that one of the nicest things that can happen to a person is to get upgraded to business class. It's like the airline gods are making up for all the delayed flights, mishandled luggage and long lines you had to put up with over the years.

A free upgrade is airline karma.

Watching paint dry

Last night I saw Frost/Nixon with the parental units. For the 6 billion of you out there who don't know what this movie is about, Frost/Nixon is about the series of interviews of newly drummed out Richard Nixon conducted by an English game show host named David Frost.

Now if that sounds like a lifeless plot, well let me tell you this -- it *is*. Kudos to genius director Ron Howard to make this movie about paint drying not only bearable, but engaging to watch.

You should see it if only to catch Frank Langella's Nixon. Mahusay.

Oks na oks sa year of the ox

Happy lunar new year, everyone.
May you be healthy, wealthy and wise.

Oyster girl

I love oysters. I love them raw, steamed, pickled in vinegar, baked. I can eat dozens of them, and do just that, when I'm in the Philippines. Oysters in HK are frightfully expensive. One oyster can cost more than US$10. One oyster. For that price I can have two bucket fulls in Manila.

I wanna be Obama

Irrational rant of the day

I hate Chocnut. I really hate Chocnut. I think the stuff tastes bad. I think anyone who likes it is crazy or actually hasn't tasted the stuff and just wants to join the Chocnut "bandwagon". Why there even is a Chocnut bandwagon boggles the mind.

Now Flattops. I love Flattops. I wish I could get on the Flattop train.

Jona and the whale

The fridge and pantry cull

I reached into the fridge this morning to get myself some lemonade, when a jar of chili sauce caught my eye. "It's been some time since I used this stuff," I thought. So I take the jar and check for the "best before" date. It said, 31-12-07. It takes me a little while to realize the sauce has been bad (or at the very least not "best") for over a year.

I toss the jar out and think, "My God, what else is in there."

And for the next 15 minutes I cull the fridge and then, still feeling the effects of averted food poising -- my pantry. I felt bad for throwing food away (I think the waste is disgraceful), but even after applying my "6 months rule" (i.e., food doesn't really go bad until the sixth month after the best before date), there were still a few cans of soup that had to go.

Lesson learned here is NOT to stock up on things. Some canned goods don't last more than six months. Why do I even have so much canned goods?

The world won't end, Jona. There will be no catastrophe that will have you eating chicken soup out of a can for weeks. Park and Shop will stay open, it's ok.

Stuff

A lot of things happened this weekend. I was in Macau to eat, I watched Wong Kar Wai's Days of Being Wild, I cooked a corned beef omelet, and finished a collection of short stories called 10 Women Who Shook the World by Sylvia Brownrigg.

Now where to start? I guess with Macau.

C and I hopped on a ferry to Macau with the sole intention of eating well. And we succeeded -- lunch was at Litoral, a Portuguese restaurant in Taipa. Dinner was at Aux Beau Arts, the French place at MGM Grand. The pork with shrimp paste in Litoral disintegrated in my mouth. The potatoes gratin at ABA looked and tasted like it was taken out of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. If you're ever in Macau, try at least one of these places.

Back in Hang Kang, I saw WKW's 90's hit about the 60's -- Days of Being Wild. Someone once told me it was shot in the Philippines. It's not. Only about 15 minutes of it is *set* in the Philippines; and that part was all very "fake". It could have been shot anywhere. That said, I thought it was pretty good. Nothing compared to In the Mood For Love, but I like how WKW (like Robert Altman) uses the same "troop" of HK actors -- Maggie Leung, Andy Lau and Tony Leung.

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The corned beef in the omelet was brilliant; the egg not so much. It was over cooked.

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Lately I've been reading compilations of "contemporary" American short stories. These are what people call "modern" stories. No formal plot really, just descriptions of characters. And lots of magic realism peppered all over the place. In one story, the two female characters build the world's greatest monuments (i.e, the Great Wall, the Taj, the Golden Gate Bridge). In another story, the "Bird Chick" the main character puts up a production of Hamlet performed by a flock of swans.

As you might suspect, I don't like modern stories. They're too... well, for lack of a better word, modern. The plot (or what the writer tries to pass off as one) does not develop properly. The tone is at best artificial. The whole point of reading short stories (like smoking a pipe, listening to records, and drinking scotch old enough to order their own scotch) is to hark back to an earlier time. A time where men wore hats and women wore stockings.

Hmmm, well, not exactly.

I just mean anytime before the Internet. When people spelled correctly and followed the fundamental structure of the short story. And so I read these "modern" stories, and instead of being propelled to a familiar place, I am left grappling, figuring which way is up.

If I wanted to feel disoriented, I'd read poetry.

Dreaming of green pedicabs*

Until last night I didn't know I dreamt in color. Well, now I know. I won't bore you with the details, but last night I had a hilarious dream of me, 3M and A-M (in PP) going around in a dark green pedicab. I was driving (or should I say, cycling). I won't go into the dream because (a) I can't remember most of it and (b) it's one of those stories that are not as funny narrated after the fact.

You should've been there, but it was a dream, so I guess you couldn't.



*Pedicab is apparently a "real" word. I thought Filipinos made it up. Am sure they made up "tri-sikad" though. It means the same thing.

On corned beef

SMQ and I spent some time today discussing our personal preferences on how we like our corned beef prepared. And no, we're not talking about the boiled stuff you eat with mustard and cabbage. We're talking about the canned stuff. Yes, canned corned beef.

I realize that to most people (i.e., non Filipinos) corned beef is generally prepared from scratch. In the Philippines, when you say "corned beef", you mean the canned stuff.

Now there are several kids of canned corned beef. There's the "chunky" kind, the "stringy" kind and the "mushy" kind. Purefoods makes both chunky and stringy, but they are famous for their stringy kind. I'd like to think that purists such as myself prefer the stringy kind. "Imported" corned beef (Libby's, Palm, etc) is mushy. Chinese corned beef is mushy too. And visibly contains a lot of fat. I am not a fan (but not because of the fat content, but because it's not as salty as the local stuff).

There are various ways of preparing corned beef, although these recipes generally fall under two categories: dry and wet. Wet requires the addition of some water. Dry can mean almost crispy, though again, I'd like to think purists enjoy their corned beef somewhere in the middle -- sauteed with some cooking oil (with garlic, onions and tomatos), but with no additional water.

SMQ likes her corned beef sauteed with potatoes. A very American approach if you ask me.

The obligatory birthday and year in review post

I have tried to write out this post since the end of the year and until today have made little progress (as my regular readers know, the dates of my posts have but little relation to reality). Every day since the start of the new year, I sit at my desk and think, "What should I write about 2008? What fun and exciting things have happened?"

Lots of things happened -- I got to travel, I met new people, I reconnected with old friends. But I can't really draw up a list of accomplishments or name the "Top Ten Things that Happened to Me in 2008". All I know is that I was very happy in 2008. I don't mean to be inarticulate, but those two words sum up how I feel about my 33rd year -- it was a year I was very happy.

I don't mean to tempt the gods, the Evil Eye or as we say in Tagalog pwera usog, but my family and I were blessed with such good fortune in 2008, I wish only the same amount of luck or grace for 2009.

We don't watch movies like we used to

When I was growing up (i.e. the '80s and early 90's), people actually went to see Oscar nominated movies. Movies like Out of Africa, Tootsie, E.T., The Killing Fields, Witness, Rainman, Working Girl, Driving Miss Daisy. I can go on and on, actually. Silence of the Lambs, A Few Good Men, JFK, Pulp Fiction....

My point is that people used to go see critically acclaimed films as a matter of course. You weren't artsy or pretentious. You just went to the movies.

That's not how it is anymore. Now there are "commercial" movies (films people actually go and see on a regular weekend) and what I'll call "art house" movies (films that get nominated for awards).

I mean, who went to see "No Country for Old Men"? "There Will be Blood" or "Letters from Iwo Jima"? I'm I sure didn't. And I'm guessing you didn't either. Or you saw these movies only *because* they were nominated for awards. That's not how things should be. People should go see good movies not because a few critics say you should. You should go see good movies because you want to see them. Because they entertain. Because they make you feel good.

I think this new pattern of movie going has something to do with "award worthy" movies being released just days before the end of the year. Producers who think their movie has a shot at getting awards now release films over Christmas to maximize press during the crucial time between the end of the year and awards season (that starts in January). This gives regular moviegoers only a week or two to see the year's "outstanding" movies. For the rest of the year, we're stuck with Mama Mia and Batman.

This year you see the same trend -- movies like "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Reader" getting Oscar buzz. Who has seen these movies? Who has heard of them (other than in the context of "these movies are getting Oscar buzz")? I'll probably see these films myself, but likely out of a sense of "obligation".

I miss the old days -- when I could see good movies on my own. When I didn't need to read Variety to know which ones they were.

Ode to Nin Jom

My name is Jona and I am hooked on Nin Jom Pei Pa Kao. For those of you who are not familiar with the most effective cough medicine in the world, this is your lucky day. Nin Jom is part cough suppressant, part nasal decongestant, part mucolytic, part expectorant, part analgesic, part sleep aid, part candy. In short, it is happiness in a bottle.

I strongly recommend this to anyone who has a sore throat or a cold or a cough or a bad day. The thick sweet syrup will coat your lungs and warm you up. The alcohol content will give you a pleasant buzz.

Trust me, you will feel better. Call me if symptoms persist.

New year, new layout

I hope everyone does not hate the new layout. (I have learned that I cannot please everyone, so I have not shifted my focus to not displeasing everyone.)

May 2009 bring you happiness, contentment and flying elephants.