Grilling Tofu

photo from cookeasyvegan.blogspot.com

Grilling tofu is better than frying it. Grilling makes it more flavorful and nutritious too. I wasn't able to take a photo of the tofu I grilled so I just got one from the Web that looks similar to what I cooked. :)

Sembreak

*It's been a while since I last wrote here, so here goes....

My semestral break officially started last Thursday, after I had my finals in PE2 Running for Fitness, which was a physical fitness test. Even though we usually have more than a month long semestral break in UPOU (6 weeks to be exact), it still seems to be too short for me. Hahaha. I also think for this semester it will be quicker since I'll be busy these following weeks.

I've also been too lazy to be online nowadays, and I guess the main reason is my own laptop recently broke. It's also been hard to have access since I can only use my mom's laptop whenever she's asleep or at work. So until I have my very own laptop again, expect me to be online less; I'd also be blogging less. Well for me that's a good thing because then my time won't be too consumed by a laptop anymore. :D

Freethinkers?

Is there such a thing as a freethinker?

If we analyze the situation, in reality there is none. We are influenced one way or another by what we hear. Whatever we hear, read, or see can either confuse and entangle us more and more in materialistic life, or it could liberate us. In a similar manner, what we speak also has an influence on others.

Indian Food Night! (part 3)

Apologies for taking so long in posting the last part of my Indian Food Night! Got really busy. :D

Eggplant Pakoras, with the rest of the dishes 

So after cooking the Chickpea dahl, I proceeded on cooking the tomato chutney. I only had 4 tomatoes from the Chickpea dahl; they were actually leftovers as the tomato chutney was not really part of the menu I planned for the night. 4 tomatoes were not enough, good thing I had a pack of tomato paste.

Don't Build a House on the Seashore When the Tide is Low

As I was watching the evening news, there was a report I saw where there were squatters (now called informal settlers in our politically correct "woke" world) being forced to move out of their homes. Fortunately there was no violence, as the people cooperated and even broke down the houses themselves. They've been staying there for so long, they've actually thought it's theirs. And what a deplorable situation! They, together with their children and grandchildren, are now homeless.

Dropbox vs. Sugarsync 2: the battle of cloud storage services continues

The battle between the two main cloud storage services rages on as Sugarsync has recently uploaded a Sugarsync vs. Dropbox video via Youtube.

On Debates

One thing's for sure, I hate debates!

Sounds ironic, as I've been engaging in debates these past couple of weeks. It's also not because I can't win one.

Sure, debates do create healthy discussions and are sometimes necessary.

Audio Exercise 1

One of the courses I have this semester is the MMS172: Audio in Multimedia. As the course name implies, we are taught the theories and practical applications of audio in multimedia. Although the course itself is okay, the readings are pretty damn boring. We are given around 50-100pages of required reading per week! And for me, that's too much to ask for students in the distance education mode, especially if most of the students are working.

One of the requirements of the professor was a 30-second audio advertisement on an advocacy we would like to promote. And since I'm vegetarian, I wanted my advocacy to be connected with Vegetarianism. I felt that 30 seconds was not enough though, as Vegetarianism is a very broad topic. So I narrowed it down to Vegetarianism and it's contribution to the environment.

Indian Food Night! (part 2)

I wanted to post about my experience with the rich 'matapobres' during my 4-day work at the biggest art fair here in the Philippines, but then I remembered that I left you hanging with my Indian Food Night! So here's the continuation of that:

While the sweet rice was cooking, I began preparing the Chickpea (garbanzos) dahl. I don't really measure the ingredients especially the spices, so feel free to adjust the ingredients to suit your taste. Here are the ingredients in list form:

Define Irony

Recently there has been a buzz about a writer of one of the newspapers here in the Philippines who wrote an article about language, particularly English and Filipino. I saw his post as a link from our FB student group.

Indian Food Night! (part 1)

(Again, I'm supposed to finish an assignment due on Friday, but instead I chose to blog... hehehe)

I miss cooking Indian Vegetarian dishes, so for a family gathering we had yesterday, I cooked an array of Indian vegetarian dishes and desserts.


Here's my menu list:

1. Chickpea dahl (Chole)
2. Sweet rice
3. Yellow rice
4. Sooji Halava (Sweet pudding made from Semolina or Farina in Filipino)
5. Eggplant Pakoras (Fried battered eggplant)
6. Tomato chutney (for the pakora)
7. Lemongrass-basil-mint-ginger Iced tea (not really Indian but was part of the menu)
8. Chocolate cake (not really Indian also and it was not part of the menu, it was an order )

Anyway so I started preparing around 1PM, bought the ingredients first at a nearby supermarket, then proceeded on cooking.

On Material Possessions, Anxieties, and Advertising

I was supposed to study.... but then I chose to write another blog post first. hehehe

Anyway...

My younger brother just received a brand new Itouch for his birthday recently, what he received is even more expensive than all my gadgets combined! (and I'm not complaining!)

Honestly, I'm a bit envious; 4 of my siblings already have one. But then ever since I was young and being the 5th child of 7 in the family, I'm used to not being given that many material possessions. Even my birthday was strategically placed, it's on the 2nd of January where everyone is tired post-Christmas and New Year, the holidays are just over, and also everyone is broke. hahaha. So even my birthday is not really celebrated.

I'm also second-hand person. Most of the gadgets I possess have been handed over like my cell phone and laptop. Even my clothes are mostly 2nd hand. But then I guess for me that's a good thing, since I do not have as much anxiety as other people who have many things.

There are 3 types of anxieties as I was reminded earlier in our practice for volunteer work. The first one is trying to get what you want. The second is maintaining what you have, and the third is losing what you possess.

Philippine Jeepneys: Love 'em, Hate 'em

photo taken from blogtext.org

Jeepneys are the main mode of transportation in the Philippines. So no matter how much you hate them, I don't think they'll be gone in the foreseeable future.

COCINA Vegetarian Food Fair August 18

Dear friends,
I will be selling vegetarian products at the COCINA Food Bazaar at UP Diliman on August 18.
Here's the menu:

On (misplaced) Love

Okay, so this will be another one of my first "emo" writings to date. hehehe

When you belong to a family, it is expected that family problems follow. It is almost inevitable. And that's one thing I hate. I really hate family problems; it also has to be your own. That's how families are; they care for each other. At least that's how mine is..

My younger sister just came to me about an hour ago. She literally broke down in front of me, telling me that she just found out that her boyfriend had cheated on her.

On buying medicines in pharmacies

As the bantay of my brother during his laparoscopic surgery, I was tasked to buy medicines and other stuff he needs. And as the usual procedure in a public hospital, you go to the hospital pharmacy to know the prices of the medicines, proceed to the cashier to pay, and go back to the pharmacy to claim your medicines. I was tasked to do this several times.

*from pcij.org

My Batangeño friend

My friend managed to visit again the other day while my brother and I were in the hospital. I also called another friend so he and they had the usual kamustahan on the phone. We also had a few chit-chat while having some snacks. Since we were still waiting for the operation, when my friend was going to leave I asked him to show me how to go to the nearby mall from the hospital. And so he went with me, and we continued to talk while at the jeep and even at the mall.

In the Countryside

After a long car ride going to the south, we (my mom, dad, older brother and I) finally arrived in Batangas City. We looked for the regional hospital where my brother was going to be admitted. Afterwards, we proceeded to a nearby mall to have dinner. We then travelled back to the hospital, and after getting lost along the way, despite of arriving there earlier, we finally found the hospital.

Some random post

I'm still sick and because of it I can't focus much on my studies. I'll also be leaving tomorrow for Batangas, as my older brother will need to undergo a laparoscopic surgery to have his gallstones removed. I hope the surgery will be successful.

Dropbox vs. Sugarsync

*image from techsplurge.com

Having a cloud storage has made my life studying in a distance learning environment easier and more convenient. I don't have to save my school papers in a USB drive every time I visit my sister and study there. I can also access my files even if there's no internet, and when I'm back online, the file automatically syncs and gets updated on the Web! I've used google docs before (another cloud computing service) in working with my school papers, and the problem I have with google docs is that my files are inaccessible offline.

My first blog post

I got inspired to write a blog after reading the blogs of one of my closest friends in OU.

I guess this is what happens when you're sick and want to do something, yet you're not in the mood to do your academic papers (even though you've got tons of them) or work-related stuff.

This is my first blog, so please bear with me. :D

Happy reading!