Chocolate Pie

When Chocolate pie comes to mind, I think of that overly packaged marshmallow cookie sandwiches covered in chocolate, Choco Pie. The ChocoPie brand actually originated from South Korea, it seems to be the staple of the South Korean military's diet. Well, that kind of food is not even counted as a type of pie, it's just a brand name.

Then there's the chocolate tart. According to the "experts" of Wikipedia, there are no sharp distinctions between "the categories of 'tart', 'flan' and 'pie'..." To me, tart is just a miniature pie and flan is like pie without the crust.

Now, that's some deliciously looking chocolate tart! Here's the recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3517/chocolate-tart

Is there really a standard sized Pure Chocolate Pie recipe?

After 10 seconds of searching the web, I finally found one, and it's a purely chocolate filled pie.

Probably one of the greatest works of man.

If you want the recipe, here it is: http://leplaisirdesmets.over-blog.com/article-on-prepare-72166384.html. It's in French, so if you're using a Chrome browser you'll know what to do.

Walking Like a Baws

April 3, 2011, 7:51 am , on a hot Sunday morning, I began my expedition to the official central point of the Philippines, the Kilometer Zero Monument. From the town of Cainta, Rizal, I had to go there only by foot!

It was challenge I took on a whim. It was the previous Saturday evening, lying on my bed deep in thoughts, I was thinking of doing something cool. Initially, I thought of running aimlessly around the island of Luzon like Forest Gump, just for the whole summer. But since my health conditions won't permit such a suicidal act, having asthma that is, sadly I've lowered my goals.

7:45 am, I was ready to go. I was wearing a pair of all-terrain slippers, a knee length orange polyester cargo pants, a white camisa de chino shirt and a native backpack that definitely attracted attention. Inside my bag, I put some reading materials, and some necessary stuff. I was also plugged into my mp3 player to keep me from getting bored.

I'm very thankful there is such thing as Google Earth, where I could pinpoint my destination and plan my route. I planned to follow the LRT 2 Railway line.

Out of our village, I started to trek Imelda Avenue. Then after reaching the corner connecting Marcos Highway, I climbed up the flyover bridge to get to the other side, no, not like a chicken.

I had a stopover at the Santolan LRT Terminal Station along Marcos Highway at exactly 9:00 am. Not to ride the train but to have a snack, which happened to be a handful of orange kwek kwek dipped in vinegar and refreshing gulaman juice.

Right after the protein-rich snack, I came out of the terminal and started to walk again.

I climbed up the foot bridge connected to SM Marikina. As I passed by the front of the mall, I tried to capture a few shot of the huge amazing structure, but the mall guards just had to be rude to local tourists like me. They shouted at me at a distance, forbidding me not to take pictures. I can't blame them, they were instructed to do so, but really, I wonder why.

So I left and stepped on the bridge over Marikina river, showing a nice yet mediocre scenery of the lily-filled Marikina River and its banks. It showed the Riverbanks Center, but what caught my attention the most was the sewer with a large number of squirming janitor fishes near it. I am not really sure if it's a sewer and where the water comes from, but you can see it's right beside the SM Marikina mall. Not much of a big deal right?

Moving on, I've arrived at the end of Marcos Highway and now on Aurora Blvd. The LRT line went underground. What am I supposed to follow? My instincts, since I don't have a compass and it happened to be a blazing hot sunny day, I use the biggest one visible from earth, the sun. Well, I know I should go west, where my destination is.

So then, I moved along Aurora Blvd., passing LRT 2 station after station. I had a few stops for Gatorade and bottled water.

Then I reached Gilmore, the Computer Capital of the Philippines. I'm already halfway the LRT 2 Line, where my feet started to sore a bit. I took a couple of pictures of Gilmore.

Then I continued with my stomach starting to growl. Passing by some food diners made me stop, look at the time but refrain from giving in to the temptation. I told myself, I will only eat at 11:30 am and up. Now my feet was starting to be covered with black greasy dirt! I really looked like a hobo.

So when I passed Sta. Mesa, I saw this Jollibee restaurant beside the SM mall and had my lunch there. I was pretty disappointed with the size of the burger steaks and amount of gravy I had, compared to the foreigners who preceded me (same order). That will be the last time I will ever eat at Jollibee.

After lunch, I headed inside SM Sta. Mesa, to the food court to rest my feet and ate some potato fries. A couple of girls grinned at me, because of my camisa de chino and cool backpack, I guess.

1:30 pm, I resumed my journey. My feet were really soring but I can't let such petty reason to ruin my expedition, right? Right. Eventually, I saw this 5 kilometer stone marker, meaning I'm just 5 kilometers away from my destination. This revved me up, how could I not finish this after seeing a sign of hope?

Then I saw this sign. It gave me the choice whether I'd follow the LRT 2 line till the end which is Recto or to Malacanang Palace instead. Seeing a national landmark seems to be a better choice, so I went to the Malacanang Complex. This would become a different route, I'm not familiar with. But I thought, "I'll see".

I can't help but take notice of this interesting white walls before entering the Malacanang Complex. :

At the entrance gate, there were a classified number of soldiers stationed.

Once again, I was shouted at by a guarding soldier for taking a photo of him.

The corresponding developments are deemed to be classified.

Finally, I was able to get through the gate. I took the opportunity to take a picture of this historical building. - Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino.

Moving along, I got to see the rear outside of the Malacanang .

The fence of the palace were awesome itself, beautifully ornamented with dozens of flags of the Philippines.

I saw the back of the Malacanang Palace, I was warned not to take pictures.

I realized, the current president isn't even living in that majestic mansion at all.

I finished the 1.7 Km Dr. Jose P. Laurel Sr. Road that led to Ayala Bridge, realizing I actually took a shortcut to my destination.

Then I saw SM City Manila, I just went through it though. Then I walked along the Taft Ave., beside the Manila City Hall where I saw the 1 Km marker! That's when I can barely walk, my walking speed slowed down obviously.

I was in front of Rizal Park already, I would just cross the pedestrian lane of Taft Ave.

Exactly 3:00 pm - I stepped on the Rizal Park pavement.

Just a few hundred meters away, my feet where giving up. I really had to sit, it felt like my legs were turning into jello. Around 15 minutes of resting in the main park, I finally reached my ultimate destination! The Kilometer Zero! I actually forgot to touch it, too bad.

I actually had a second optional goal in mind, to get to glance at Manila Bay. But before that, I had to sit around and read for a while.

Then some 30 minutes after resting, I walked South along Roxas Blvd., passing by Museo Pambata and The Embassy of the United States of America. Again, I was shouted at by a security guard of the embassy for taking some pictures of the front.

Finally, I can smell the foul sea breeze of Manila Bay. I took some pictures of the ship filled horizon and some young seaside folks posing in jejemon style. Baywalk really seems to be cool except for the foul stench.

I was like "Objective Complete, Mission Accomplished!"

I walked a total of 20 kilometers for about 7 hours.

Here's where I walked - the red lines :

How to Fight in Gang Fights

So there’s a group of pissed gangsters waiting at the school gate, intending to beat you up as soon as you come out.

The bell rings, your class comes out through the gate and you frantically hide yourself behind the back of your unaware classmate. But, as you keep on glancing at both sides, your collar gets pulled from the back by a gangster. Behind him are 5 more thugs in civilian clothing with a grin on their faces. Eventually, they’ve forcibly dragged you into a secluded place. You already know what will happen, either you get serious fatal injuries or get raped. If you’re not physically fit enough, to at least defend yourself, then you’re screwed!

So before anything like this could ever happen, follow the pointers that shall be given as this article progresses.

Prevention First

As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, we must strive to avoid such unfortunate thing to happen.

Everything is governed by the law of cause and effect ^[1], and for this matter it’s not exempted. There must be a reason on why this gang is angry at you and you may not be aware of it.

There are lots of variables and factors that you must find out like a mathematical equation; just use some common sense and you will hardly miss it.

­­­­­The major factors that may have caused a gang to pick on you are the following: the way you talk, your appearance, your actions and your behavior and attitude.

First, you should watch your mouth. Most fights start from the exchanges of offensive words because either one of you have just too much pride to let it go. Avoid cursing, without your foul mouth this wouldn’t happen at the first place.

When you get a negative comment against you, do not let your emotions control your actions or your mouth, if so, you have just been psychologically defeated by the person.

If you want to give a reply to his or her stupid remark, which is really unnecessary, try to stay calm. Say something positive to ease up the atmosphere back to neutrality. Like in math, if 5 is subtracted from 0 the result is -5, if you add 5 back, it will be back to zero again, zero conflict and zero familiarity, as if nothing happened. But, you can actually add more than 5 and make that potential bully a friend!

Another key to avoid being picked on by gangsters is not to look weird. A person could look weird by his or her appearance, actions, stature and facial expressions.

Weirdness is not to be mistaken with uniqueness. Weird is something strangely awkward and out of this world which is just irritating. Unique is something one of a kind and pleasant, something that you could be proud of.

Appear normally, at least in public. Before leaving your house, look at the mirror and examine yourself. Is your clothing or uniform properly ironed or does it look like a crumpled up paper? Are your shoes polished shiny or they’re already showing your toes? Does your hair resemble James Bond’s or Einstein’s?

How about your actions? Do you just literally jump on and on, out of the blue? Do you still suck your thumb or fingers? Do you just hit anyone without any reason? And if there is, do you really have to hit so hard?

And there’s stature that you must have correctly. You can tell a person’s personality just by looking at his or her stature. For example, a boy with his shoulders higher than his ears and with his back bent could be speculated as suffering from inferiority complex; while a guy with his chin up and a straight back looks cool and may seem intimidating to most.

How about your facial expressions? As you walk in public, do unintentionally glare at people? Or, do you make pouty lips, which really are an eye sore?

Overall, be balance. Do not go to the extremes, and fall in the gutter of either side. By doing so, you will not only avoid unwanted fights but you could also be labeled as a role model to your schoolmates and everyone around you.

If it doesn’t work… Prepare for Battle!

You may have followed the advice given from this article, but this bully really is persistent. This could only mean one thing; you’re simply the target of a psychopath.

When you’re dealing with this kind of people, it is strongly advised to inform it to the police, barangay captain and/or the guidance councilor. DO NOT handle this problem on your own; even so, be ready for the worst!

Your physical ability alone cannot possibly defeat these masculine brutes, but don’t forget, your mental muscle outmatches theirs!

Decide whether you will get them to “bite the dust” or just defend yourself.

If you want to let them taste your ferocity, then, here are some pointers to remember.

§ Device a strategic and tactical plan to bring them down. You have to be familiar with the battleground, and find strategically defensive spots in it. Know the correct timing, number of opponents, most efficient attack methods, etc.

§ Use psychological damaging comments to demoralize them, in effect, reducing their combat points.

§ Use math. Time your attack, discern their fighting pattern, calculate their speed and be in the upper hand.

Follow Manabizaki Kyou, from the one-shot manga comic, Swot. Being a studious nerd, he defeated the strongest delinquent in their school by calculating everything in his head^[2].

§ Use your animal instincts. Stare directly at your opponents’ eyes, without blinking. Intimidation is an effective technique to make them think irrationally and attack carelessly, thus, giving you an opening.

§ You must be mentally and psychologically prepared for whatever the outcome is. If you win, don't let it get to your head. If you lose, it’s okay, at least you fought like a man, proving how brave you are.

Defense Mode

You just laughed at the pointers above, thinking you can’t possibly do such things. Although, you can, you’re just not mentally prepared. One thing for sure, you go for the defensive mode.

The most successful defensive action, in terms of percentage is to run as cowardly as you can! Seriously, if you don’t want to get hurt, take any opportunity to get away.

Self-defense simply means keeping yourself from physical harm. In contrast with doing an offensive, your main objective here is to get the least damage as possible. Disabling your opponents’ to attack more or even before they could ever attack is secondary, but is also crucial in defense.

Before engaging in a defensive combat, you must be well aware of the basics of self-defense. You must know how to block any strike and a lot more than that.

If you are not familiar with the self-defense basics, you can always bring a pepper spray^[3], tear gas or a stun gun^[4] in your bag, these stuff are totally legal. Just don’t show them off in school or your teacher may confiscate them. One notable user of a stun gun is the “High School Musical” actress, Vanessa Hudgens ^[5].

In the sports world, the best defense is a good offense, directing you back to attack mode. If you’ve proven that you can take them out, then you can always switch to the offensive.

*Peace bro…

You must remember that fighting is just your last resort. Talking your way through a fight may avoid spending months on a hospital bed. Watch your tone when you talk, “A gentle answer turns away wrath”^[6].

Our actions and behavior are summed up to our school’s image. Being a division school leader, this national high school cannot afford a smudge on its reputation.

So instead of fighting, let’s gang up towards excellence. J

References

[1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causality

[2] - http://www.onemanga.com/SWOT/0/45/

[3] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray#Asia

[4] http://motorcyclephilippines.com/forums/showthread.php?t =52107

[5] - http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/04/16/09/vanessa-hudgens-stunning-self-defence

[6] - NKJ Bible Proverbs 15:1

[7] - FPFM National High School – Student’s Handbook

*This was actually a rejected article submission to our school paper, maybe because it's just too radical. teehee!

Watashi Bento ~desu (my first in school)

Being an otaku, it's not strange for me to crave for Japanese cuisine and wanting to get the feeling of an anime school student.

Preparing a bento lunch is very exhausting, the steps are listed below:

1. Research and Planning

2. Buying the ingredients and stuff from the grocery

3. Food Preparation

4. Cooking

5. Packing

It's a very complicated matter for a student like me who lives in a country where general groceries open at 10 am and the school starts at 12 o'clock, school ends at 7 pm and groceries closes at 9pm.

The heavy traffic after school won't give me anymore time for grocery shopping.

I was just actually waiting for the right timing when there's a whole day event. I failed twice before, but just today I did it! and ate my first bento in the school.

The first attempt was when I've done the grocery but failed to have the time to prepare and cook the bento and decided to make tuna sandwiches instead. The second attempt was when I failed everything else except for the packing, that's when I just bought the lunch from 7-11 and just wrap it with furoshiki.

Today's a lucky day indeed, I did it and ate it all in less than 5 minutes without water, it's a medium sized meal with a 1:1 ratio of rice and side dishes, unfortunately I wasn't able to fit in the vegies that I've also prepared.

How I did it is the question. Well, it really needed a lot of research from the internet, and I'm very grateful for About.com and Wikipedia.org.

So I had to decide what dishes I want to eat and list them down. First thing that came in my mind was the octodogs! then onigiri, gyudon, chicken nuggets, veggie salad and stir fried bean sprouts.

So I still needed to buy them and the bento box. It so happened that there are several Japanese thrift shops in our area, selling all item in 66 php to 88 php!

Yesterday, I got out of school earlier because nobody wants to mess with me and the guard is such a sucker, nah it was legit. I had the time to go shopping and did so. Today, I woke up at 4 and started preparing and cooking and ended around 6:30. This day was not one my regular school days but it was a whole day and had to attend in the morning so a bento was necessary.

What's in it are the following,

- 4 onigiri cubes

- 5 octodogs

- Gyudon topped with pickled relish

- stir-fried bean sprouts or togue

After the lunchbreak had started, butterflies also started to appear in my stomach helped with a slight hunger. I really wanted to eat alone but decided to eat in the school cafeteria anyway.

As I gobbled up my food with silver chopsticks, I can sense these weird stares on me from others. Finally, I finished my food and went out the cafeteria and heard somebody yell at me from inside, "Konichiwa!".

What a weaboo, I am.

Living a School Life Genre

School just started, or another way to say it is "Here comes our 10 months of hell".

Most people would think it's ordinary, but for me it's
more than ordinary. Having watched a bunch of Anime series with school life themes makes me think, "this could be interesting".

Am I going to copy those anime characters when I get in situations as what happened to them? Who should I copy? Sakuragi Hanamichi, Tomoya Okazaki, Ryuji Takasu (I'm pretty similar to his lifestyle), Kyon or Sunohara?

Well, I was actually designated to sit in the front row according to the alphabetized orders of our names. All of us in the class don't actually sit on our assigned seats, unless during our adviser's time. I sit at the very back of the classroom so I could sleep without getting caught, though I got caught twice, I believe. But the possibility rate is far more lower than sleeping in the middle or in front.

For high schools in the Philippines, at least in our high school, boys and girls are separated in 2 groups in the class. But some "delinquents" which includes me don't sit in either side, because we have our own row. The unofficial 6th row, I call the delinquents' row, exempted from cleaning duties. Since there are only 5 school days in a week from Monday to Friday, only the first 5 rows will do the job and we the intimidating thugs don't have to.

The x in there is where I sit.