Flip-si-log

Contrary to popular belief, I am filipino! My middle name is my mom's maiden name. I have a rosary hanging on the rear view mirror of my car. I have "The Last Supper" hanging on my wall. I have a piano used only for decoration and never is played. I understand Tagolog but can't speak it. But I still have people who refuse to consider me filipino. I even have an African American coworker who proclaims "I'm more filipino than you" just cuz she eats more filipino food than me...haha!

I grew up eating filipino food. My parents would always cook it...and boy did they make some good filipino dishes! But as my sister and I grew older, we discovered that we liked other types of food as well. My parents eventually saw that, and their filipino cooking became less and less through the years. Nowadays, I hardly crave filipino food, but I'll eat it if it's in front of me.

Today brought about a visit from my parents (aside: Since they moved out, I kinda miss having them around...ahh). For dinner, they had a craving for fresh (ie. not fried) lumpia from Goldilocks (note: caught me off guard but this Goldilocks is trying to be a restaurant now with menus and waiters, and no more lines where you pick your food... not sure if they are all doing this). Anyways, I decided to get a fresh lumpia as well. I've had it before but it tasted really good tonight! It got me thinking...what are my favorite filipino dishes? So of course, I had to come up with another list (without pictures):

11) SISIG: barbeque seasoned pork that can be hit or miss depending on who cooks it
10) BEEF/PORK SINIGANG: the bitter soup adds good flavor to the tender meat
9) GARLIC FRIED RICE: such the best staple for the "___-si-log" dishes!
8) KARE KARE: ox tail in peanut sauce; so good when you get a lot of the ox tail meat
7) LECHON: pork with the fat; so good with the Mama Sita sauce
6) BBQ ON A STICK: the sauce they put on the meat always has been a favorite of mine
5) ADOBO: when the sauce is right, adds so much flavor to the meat and rice
4) ARROZ CALDO: chicken and rice "porridge"; my parents make a pretty damn good one
3) DINUGUAN: "chocolate" meat and rice! store near my house makes an awesome one!
2) LUMPIA SHANGHAI: can't go wrong with fried wrapped up meat in the sweet/sour sauce
1) LONGANISA: the sweet juices from this sausage to flavor your rice mixed with the "chunks" in the sausage is pure heaven in my mouth! It will never drop from #1!

Just missed the cut (so I won't describe them): TINOLA, KALDERETA, TOCINO, AND PANCIT MIKI BIHON.

Maybe if I knew how to make these dishes, I'd eat them more. But I do know how to make longanisa...and that's all that matters!

Psssst! Who's doubting my filipino-ness now?

The List That Taketh Away What Little Street Cred I Had

It's no secret that I am a fan of boy band music and all the corny lyrics and fancy footwork that goes with it. I can honestly say that I wish I could be in a boy band...pretty much cuz I could be everything I'm not. I'm not a good singer nor a good dancer plus I don't have any girls flocking after me. So, with all this recent fan-damonium of the New Kids on the Block, it had me thinking of my favorite WHITE Boy Bands and my favorite song/video of each one. I actually remember making a CD at Tiffany Blue's house and giving it the title "Tighty Whities." So in keeping up with my fellow blog-stars and their lists, here goes my first ever list...

5) O-TOWN: Their lyrics were pretty damn cheesy and always get stuck in your head. Matter of fact their lyrics were quite sexual as displayed in "We Fit Together"


4) BACKSTREET BOYS: Granted they came out with a ton of songs, they only had a few that I really liked. "Quit Playing Games with my Heart" came in a very close second to..."I Want It That Way"


3) 98 DEGREES: Underrated on most lists pretty much cuz they couldn't dance. But their songs put them high on mine. Tough call but #4)This Gift, #3)Because of You, #2)The Hardest Thing, #1)Invisible Man


2) NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: I must confess that I was a fan back in the day and still am. I mean they are the originators of cheesy pop music! Really tough call but "The Right Stuff" barely beats out "Step by Step" pretty much cuz of the dancing.


1) *NSYNC: The best boy band of all-time! They revived the genre and put it on another level! #4)I Want You Back #3)The Two of Us #2)Tearin' Up My Heart and #1(Bye Bye Bye


Just Missed the Cut:
#6) Savage Garden - Truly, Madly, Deeply (yeah not really a boy band per se but they had to be included)
#7) BBMak - Back Here
#8) Boyzone - No Matter What
#9) LFO - Girl on TV

Honestly, I just wanted all these videos on one page so I can watch them over and over....haha! After all this, I wouldn't be surprised if I get kicked out of the Fifth Dimension, since they probably don't want to be labeled as soft. Haha!

Fatboy Slim Gym

The beginning of 2008 brought about the customary New Year's resolution of getting into shape. Instead of joining a "health club" like before (note: to date, one of the most expensive mistakes of my life!), I decided to just join 24 Fitness. I started off strong (in mindset) but weak (in strength)!

Rewind to February 2008:
Skin Fold Measurements (using a caliper)
Weight = 176 lbs; Fat % = 26%; Fat Mass = 45.8; Lean Body Mass = 130.2; Biceps Fat = 8; Triceps fat = 15; Subscapularis fat = 26; Iliac fat = 40

Circumference Measurements (in inches)
Neck = 14.25; Chest = 37; Upper Arm = 12.75; Forearm = 10.5; Waist = 34; Hips = 37.25; Thigh = 17.5; Calf = 14.25

With those numbers, I couldn't do this by myself. I mean damn...half my body was fat! So I decided to sign up with a personal trainer in February. Everything was great to begin...I saw results and my body was changing. In June; my weight was down to 171; my tricep fat went down to 9; my iliac fat went down to 30; my waist was at 30.25.

Then I started to slack for too numerous excuses to list (being sick, going on vacation, pure laziness, etc) and I only went to the gym like once a week when I had a training session. And boy, was my money going down the drain! And you could tell I was becoming a fat lard again.

I knew I was wasting my money. My trainer and I decided that I was gonna go on my own starting September and check back with her monthly. I wanted to prove to her I could do it, so I got a newfound mindset! I'm starting to find a new routine to the point where I'm at the gym as early as 6:45am on some mornings.

Fast Forward to this morning:
Skin Fold Measurements (using a caliper)
Weight = 170.5 lbs; Fat % = 23.5%; Fat Mass = 40.1; Lean Body Mass = 130.4; Biceps Fat = 5; Triceps fat = 6; Subscapularis fat = 20; Iliac fat = 30

Circumference Measurements (in inches)
Neck = 14; Chest = 36.25; Upper Arm = 12.5; Forearm = 10.25; Waist = 29.75; Hips = 35.75; Thigh = 16; Calf = 13.75; Penis = Just Kidding!

I know what you are all thinking. I would make for one curvalicious woman! I mean 36-29-35...damn! You gotta like big butts!

I'm happy but I got lots more work to do to come remotely close to Kram status (which I will never reach). Thanks Kram for the protein shake recommedation...it's damn good!

Mos Jef's Training Tip of the Day (probably goes against one of Kram's gym etiquette rules):
Feel free to do extra sets of shoulder dumbbell exercises when a cute-ass girl is working out next to you. I did like 3 extra exercises! I mean it's only polite to watch her "form" and offer any advice if she is doing anything wrong. But in watching her, her "form" was damn perfect...if you know what I mean! 34-22-30 were my guest-imations!

Reegsta - since you have many excel sheets open now, feel free to chart the above numbers...what's one more sheet huh?

10 Seconds of Fame...Gonna Live Forever

Blast from the Past - Totally Random Video of the Day
I came across this video from 2006. It might be a little dry and slow for some, but bear with me, it gets good around the 1:37 mark. However, I suggest watching from the start and not fast forwarding to catch the full essence of the piece.

There was no way I could embed the video, so just click on the link and it should play (hopefully):

http://www.brodiebrazil.com/media/sandiego.wmv

So what you think? You know you enjoyed it! I surely did! And no...that just was not a waste of your time! It was great insight provided!

I got a CRUSH on you

One of my favorite mantras in life is dedicated to Big Pun: "I'm not a player, I just crush a lot"

I used to have crushes left and right, practically on every hapa girl (famous or not) who I came in contact with...haha! But lately I've noticed I'm more selective on who I deem a crush. I guess a girl's gotta have some special quality/talent to set her apart now.

And what better quality to have then to be a girl who can freakin kick my ass and knock me out! So who am I talking about? Remember this name....GINA CARANO! She's an Elite XC Mixed Martial Arts fighter and the Epitome of sex appeal and thug appeal! So damn cute outside the octagon but straight up vicious with her right hooks inside the cage. She looks good in make-up but she looks even better without it...ahh natural beauty!

On top of that she's an American Gladiator! And quite fittingly, she goes by the name CRUSH. So she literally is my Crush!


She can put me in a rear naked choke any day!

Stare All You Want Girl!

I'm sure you've peeped this video before, but I had to include this on my blog. I never imagined having such a hot girl stare at me for so long. Reegsta was the first ever to claim her, so I'm left just admiring her perfection - perfect face, kissable lips, and cute tongue at the end.


The Jessica Alba Stare Response

Did you catch that smile she had at 1:20? What you didn't see was I was taking off my shirt! Then I started dancing at the end and she got distracted.

And for you ladies...here's the Nash she was referring to...here's his response:


Of course, this all started with Baron Davis! Looks like, they gotta little clique going on.

PS: Thanks to Rols for the blog-ducation on how to add YouTube videos...I wasn't kidding when I said I wasn't computer savvy!

Breaking the Band

Just peeped "Making the Band" and talk about drama, drama, drama. And of course, it centers on the girls...Danity Kane. Hidden agendas, cliques, trust issues, etc...what else can you expect from girls. Haha! Damn I was locked in for the second half of this episode! Diddy trying to call everyone out and telling them to air out all their issues. You knew a bombshell was about to come. And lo and behold, at the end, Diddy straight up tells Aubrey that he don't want her in the band anymore! I've heard rumblings recently but to see it for myself, I was like damn he's serious. It's definitely played up on TV, but it makes for some quite good TV! I know I ain't gonna miss next week's season finale.

Random thoughts about the show:
1) Aundrea has totally grown on me...she has some pretty cute tendencies and a cute smile.
2) Shannon is still my favorite! The wholesome, quiet one who I would be friends with to go along with sexy lip movements ala Mandy Moore.
3) I actually wouldn't mind if Aubrey left...she bugs! I'm not a big fan of D. Woods as well.
4) Not sure if Day 26 will ever put out a song that surpasses "Exclusive". That song was on point!
5) Donnie Klang's CD pretty much sucks!

Ice Tea and Sprite Ain't Right

Was at Costco today, so had to get me the polish sausage meal for lunch. Of course, had to do my usual mixing of the soda flavors at the soda machine. Was my choice a winner? The title of this post gives it away.

Advice for the Day: NEVER mix Nestea Raspberry Ice Tea with Sprite!
You all might be wondering why even mix anything with the Raspberry Ice Tea...it's really good all by itself. Well, being the adventurous person I am, I always want to try different combinations. And it always seemed Sprite was the best mixer with other flavors. But not today! Tasted good when I sipped it at the machine. I kept on sipping it driving home and I was like damn this leaves a bad after-taste! But I kept drinking it since I was thirsty. Then my stomach starts feeling kinda funny. That's it...I get home and its a glass of water to go with my polish sausage! I have barely touched my meal when nature calls and Montezuma has exacted his revenge!

The day went on and so far Montezuma has called me to the throne 2 more times. It's definitely not close to when I was practically on the throne for a day when I had a stomach virus in May. But I blame it all on the drink!

Lesson learned: I'm gonna stick to Arnold Palmers!

Hot Like Wasabi

MC JC has entered the sushi house! Shout out to Mike for his request! Here we go, here we go:

Chopstick, chopstick...here's another topic
Wasa-B...u wanna roll? Let's roll like sushi!

Unagi and maki...wash it down with sake
Bomb like the Hiroshima...explosion in the mouth
Who's don? I'm don! Udon?
Sushi in the house!

Yummy goodness all wrapped in seaweed
Cuz when I see weed...I hot box
Like the bento, cook an egg like tamago
Fillin my belly just like the toro
All you can eat sushi...eat like there's no tomorrow

Unagi and maki...combo with a 4PM sukiyaki
It's all because of you, I'm feeling sad and blue
You went away, now my life is just a rainy day

Sike! Round and round the sushi boat goes
Never to stop...just like my flows
Pairing me like the nigiri, Handing me the temaki
Sauce it up with teriyaki, Roll me out like the maki
Eat it raw like chirashi

Unagi and maki...yellow tail me a hamachi
Damn...this meal's gonna cost me
In tagalog this ain't gonna be mura
F' it...fry me up some tempura!

Sushi out of the house! Wasa-B!

K'mon-o; K'mon-o....bow down to MC JC!

You're Invited to Dinner at Che Lunay

So, I'm a little over two weeks removed from my Derrty Thirty...and I guess I'm truly living the bachelor lifestyle now. Moms and Pops are moving into their new place and I gots the house all to myself. Finally huh? As happy as I am on my own, I'm just more happy that my parents were able to find a place where they can continue to enjoy their retirement. And it's only an hour away...the drive ain't too bad.

So being on my own, my biggest concern was how I'm gonna eat. I just can't come home now to a home cooked meal from moms and pops. So what's a bachelor to do?

Problem solved! My coworker and his family do Dream Dinners! It's a business that provides a monthly menu where you pick certain dishes and they provide all the recipes and ingredients. You sign up for a monthly session and they have all these stations ready where you can assemble your meals by throwing all your ingredients into a ziploc bag or a tray. You can freeze the food and then thaw and cook it when you're you're craving a certain meal. I had my first session on Saturday and it was quite fun! Signed up for 6 three-serving meals for only $75. It might seem expensive at first but you end up saving a lot since you're not running to the grocery store for random ingredients and you're not spending tons of money eating out.

So if anyone wants to come over for dinner...here's the menu for the month at my house:
Firehouse 3 Cheese Pasta with Meatballs
Salmon and Crab Pinwheels
Tangy Down Home Pork Chops
Classic Chicken and Dumplings
Canadian Bacon Stuffed French Bread
Buffalo Chicken
Pecan Crusted Chicken
Pulled Pork Sandwiches

For more info, go to http://www.dreamdinners.com/ and see if it's something that will curve your expenses. Or recruit a friend or two and chip in for meals together. I'm totally sold on this business as you can tell. Makes you wonder...why can't I ever come up with an idea like this? Oh to have that entrepreneurial drive in one's blood...I certainly don't have it...yet!

Feel free to RSVP via the comments...haha!

We taking over the blogging world!

DJ, give me a beat:

Mos Jef has entered the blog-o-sphere
Posting thoughts that you might want to hear
They might be funny, maybe heartfelt, or a release when I'm peeved
One thing you should know...I wear my emotions on my sleeve!

Random thoughts flow through my mind like any other person
Putting mind to keyboard is my means of conversion
Computer savvy...that's not what I am
Readers be forewarned...hope my work ain't like spam

Inspired and encouraged by my friends who have blogs
Not a day goes by that I don't read their daily logs
I can only hope my entries are as amusing
A writing style I can't pinpoint...hope I'm not confusing

We taking over the blogging world...one URL at a time
Gonna collaborate one day...come with a dope blog rhyme
Hope it's not overload...putting in our two cents
We taking over the blogging world...we the "7 blog-tinents"!

Shouts out to the crew!

Rols - had to give you Africa for the once captioned pic with you as "The Blackness" haha

Ugly Mind - had to give you your motherland

TiffanyBlue - Europe is fashion forward...u represent that

Grubadubdub - cuz you and your blog are hot and spicy

Kram - Jersey to CA...you got North America covered

Reegsta - you wanted to go to the Arctic...so hear's Antartica

Mos Jef - pretty much cuz I like to "mate"...haha!

I'm out!