#AMALAYER

There's nothing special about what I'll be writing about today. I just want to share my views regarding a very "trending" topic-- the "Amalayer" incident.

The woman in the video apparently humiliated a Lady Guard at an LRT Station, which was caught on cam by a bystander. The incident purportedly happened last Tuesday and the video has gone viral since Wednesday morning. I wasn't able to watch the news nor visit the net this past few days so I never had the chance to be "updated" about it. While I was too busy minding my own business, the video already hit worldwide popularity and has been getting tons of reviews since.

I was able to watch the video only this morning and my initial reaction was that of shock. Nothing prepared me for that. It was like a scene straight out of a badly made Teleserye. It bothered me so much that somebody could have the guts to humiliate somebody else in public and not even feel any shame at all-- in real life. What happened to the morals and ethics painstakingly instilled in us by our guardians? But then again, who was I to judge? I was not there.

News about the "Amalayer" incident has been spreading really quickly, thanks to the media and the cyber world. The Amalayer Video which had been taken and uploaded by a commuter named GPL, circulated the net through likes and shares. Innumerable Facebook Pages and Twitter accounts dedicated to PJS were created over the past two days. Parody videos of the Amalayer incident also flooded Youtube, each of them earning as many as a hundred views by the minute. Even celebrities and people from other countries tweeted about the incident, saying that PJS had been very disrepectful and showed no breeding although she purposely mentioned that she is an educated person.


 


Here's what PJS said, as heard on the video clip:

"Noooo...
So now you're making me look like a liar? So I'm a liar?
So you're telling me I'm a liar? I'm a liar? I'm a liar? Answer me! I'm a liar?
Sorry po, sorry. That's how you say sorry? If I say to you, sorry ate, sorry. Tanggap mo 'yon?
You really shouted , ate. Ate! May pinag-aralan akong tao. Ginanon mo ako. I'm just returning the favor!
No, no, no... Alam mo kung paano mo ako tinanong? Pano mo ko tinanong?
Sabi mo, 'Ate, anong problema mo?' Ay, Oh my God, Kuya, she's a liar. Oh my God, you're a frigging liar, miss!
Anong sabi mo, "Anong problema mo?..."

The phrase "I'm a liar" sounded like "Amalayer". Thus the term stuck and catapulted PJS and her video to stardom-- but not in a good sense. Yes, I have been hearing this word all day and it wasn't because of her good manners. A morning at the office introduced me to the Amalayer video. I went to eat at a fastfood, I heard people talking about it. I went to buy something at CD-R King, the salesladies were gossiping about the "ugaling-eskwater" lady. I entered the Ladies' Room, the girls were all laughing at the "girl without breeding" while powdering their noses. On my way home, the driver of the FX and some of the passengers were chatting about the "disgraceful" video.

Oh my-- please stop.

So what was she screaming about? According to several news reports about the incident, investigation showed that PJS failed to follow security procedures. The LRTA-OIC mentioned that PJS did not put her bag on the conveyor of the X-ray machine for security check, thus causing a breach. It was said that the Lady Guard reprimanded JPS, and did so because she was only fulfilling her duty. Other people, however, tweeted that the guard could have done something that offended the passenger.

PJS said, in an interview after the incident, that "the matter should have been resolved privately" and that "because of what happened, her aunt has been rushed to the hospital and her parents have also become worried." PJS now cries foul, saying that she's become a victim of cyber-bullying. While it was true that the Lady Guard SMC already offered her apologies on the same time PJS was lashing out at her, PJS did not feel that the Lady Guard was sincere. The Lady Guard, SMC, said sorry again a day after the incident took place.

I don't support PJS for what she did, because I felt that she was really very disrespectful and insensitive to what the Lady Guard was feeling. I also felt that she was also showing her superiority, thus speaking in a loud voice and using the English Language at times, when she knew that the Lady Guard would not be able to reciprocate. I think it wasn't really proper for an educated person to do just what she did. I feel for the Lady Guard and commend her for the calm and composure she exhibited even when she was publicly humiliated by PJS.

PJS's mistake, in my opinion, was that she was too consumed by pride during the reproach. She felt humiliated that the Lady Guard admonished her about not having her bag scanned, she felt wronged and thus, resulted in her being angry. I cannot explain the reason why she had to do that, but at the same time, I recognize the fact that many factors could be contributing to her outburst.

BUT I WASN'T THERE AND I DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO JUDGE HER-- MORE THAN MY OPINION OF WHAT I SAW HER DO IN THE VIDEO.

Having said that, I also recognize the fact that she must have been taking too many heavy blows by now. People have been relentlessly criticizing her, mocking her and making her the epitome of stupidity and rudeness. Do we think about how much pain and stress this must have been causing her and her family? The incident has already happened, perhaps, it would be better to leave it at that and just let the concerned parties settle what they would need to settle.

We are appalled by how PJS acted toward the Lady Guard, but do we not see that how we react to her now is also appalling? Come on. We all disapprove of what she did, but let us be bigger persons by not judging her more than we already did. It would be better if we would lay off from the name-calling and the cursing. That girl is suffering enough.

Let's admit it-- don't we all have these bad sides of us? Don't we all have the tendency to not listen to what is right and to choose to act with selfish intentions? We all have that "bitch" days, right? The times when we just hate the world just because. The times when we snarl at every person who accidentally bumps into us. The times when we feel the urge to bite somebody's head off. These times prove how imperfect we are-- to judge others for something that we also do. Yep, we also do bad things-- we are just lucky that we haven't been caught on camera.

In this digital age, nobody can "safely" do anything wrong, anymore. One wrong move and you can have your very life scrutinized and criticized by people who don't even know you. You can get popular, sure.. but the question is, is it gonna be worth it?

Moral of the story? Be on your feet even when you think that you are right. Just remember: if you really are a good person, you will do good not only when someone is looking, but even when nobody is around to see it.

Spread love, People. Hate is a bad thing. 

TAHOOOOOOOOO!

These past few days, I haven't done anything cool enough to talk about. That's sad, right?

Anyway, let me just talk about something I've done this morning. It's nothing death-defying, okay. I just ate TAHO. Period.

You might be thinking to yourself now, "who cares about you eating taho, anyway?". Well I care. You care too, that's obviously the reason why you're still reading this blogpost.

Okay. Let me begin..

During my break earlier, I went to the pantry to buy coffee. Then I saw Manong, the lolo who sells Taho. He was standing in a corner and was looking at every person who comes in, hopeful that they will buy from him. So I felt myself feeling the same feeling everytime I see him in that corner, I decided to forget coffee and buy Taho instead. Well, here I am-- you have one customer here.

As I walk toward Manong, he was staring straight at me. I smiled as a confirmation that I'm buying, then said to him, Yung dati pa din, Manong. He immediately ducked to scoop some of the white stuff (soft tofu with the texture of silky custard). Tanghali ka na Manong, ah, I said as he added the arnibal to the cup using a thin metal laddle. He shyly replied, Oo, nanakit kasi ang likod ko kanina. I watched him add the tapioca pearls on top, while unintentionally picturing him carrying his taho container/buckets.

I was surprised to realize that I have been thinking too much again- and getting teary-eyed. Manong was already handing me the clear plastic cup brimming with the succulent dessert. I accepted the large cup and paid him P20 for it. After thanking him, I slowly made my way out of the pantry. Before I was able to stop myself, I looked back at him, and at the same time, felt the same strong emotion which always prompted me to buy from him everytime he's around.

It's just plain and simple; I have a soft spot for the elderly. When I see elderly people toiling in spite of their age, my heart breaks. When I see old people eating and traveling alone, I feel lonely for them. When I pass by peasants, I can't stop myself from feeling bad about their family not being able to provide for them anymore. Yes, I am that soft, the mere thought of a lola walking alone crushes me.

I was once able to talk to an elderly gentleman who lives in a retirement home in Australia. As I listen to him talk about his family, I was able to grasp how lonely he is. He said he wanted his telephone line transferred beside his bed so that it wouldn't take him a while to answer when his family called. He said he usually misses the calls because he can't get to the phone immediately, and his relatives are usually too busy to ring more than once. I spent several minutes inside the ladies room after talking to him-- I couldn't keep myself from crying.

On several occasions I think of my grandparents whenever I see old people. I guess that's one of the reasons why I'm easily affected. I miss my grandparents. I wasn't the best granddaughter in the world and I have broken their hearts more than once, but I love them. I wouldn't want for them to be subjected to any difficulties, because they're old and very fragile now. I would definitely give everything just to be able to support and protect them. They were my fortress when I was a young child, I would like to be one of their strongholds now that I am older.

Taho, you want?

Great, I'm getting dramatic here. Going back to Manong and his taho. I don't really like taho that much. Infact, the only reason why I'm buying is because I want to be able to help him. That P20 can mean a lot to him more than it can ever mean to me.

Everybody gets old. Sure. But I don't think people my age can imagine themselves forty-five years from now. If only they can, then they would probably have soft spots for the elderly as well, and a lot of my colleagues would be buying Taho from Manong. Come to think of it-- have you imagined how you'd be when you're old and arthritic?


As for me, I don't want to grow old alone. I would love to grow old beside someone who will love me 'til our last breath. I want someone to hold my hand during my last minutes on earth. (Great, I'm really getting dramatic here. This paragraph isn't even supposed to be here.)

NO ONE BUT..

It's not everyday that you would meet someone who will make you feel something profound. Most of the time, we tend to want to prolong their stay in our lives. But as much as we don't want to, some things are meant to end. And when they end, there won't be anything left but the memories. Memories, therefore, should be preserved.

Today I had my third ink. It's a very simple design for a tattoo; it's really small and inked in black, but I wanted it that way. I initially wanted it way smaller, but the resident artist said it would be better to adjust the size, for the sake of bringing out the minute details.

I had my tats done at Cadence Tattoo Studio. The facade of the shop is painted pink and is full of graffiti- you're not going to miss it if you happen to be on a lookout. It's pretty small and somewhat cramped inside but that didn't even bother me at all. I have read great reviews for Jeffrey's works- in fact, some people I personally know wear his art as well. It's the quality of work that matters to me and not how extravagant the shop should be. Besides, he offered me a good deal.

It took less than 30 minutes to finish the job- from design transfer to the actual inking. I didn't even feel any pain at all, even when the needle repeatedly passed over a bony part. He works with the speed and precision of a professional. It's really true that how you'll feel during the process depends on your pain tolerance level, how detailed the tattoo is, how gentle the artist is, and how big the tattoo is. I was even surprised when he informed me that it's already finished. He kept asking me what the design meant, but I just smiled and replied "secret" everytime he did.

I marveled at the awesome tattoo on my shoulder, glad that I didn't have it placed on my upper arm since it wouldn't probably look as good if I did. My tattoo has a very special meaning. It signifies something profound that I have found a long time ago.. and eventually lost just recently. It pertains to something I wanted so badly, but had to let go. Half a decade worth of memories written down in one small phrase, and the part where I had it placed was just as significant as the tattoo itself.

I don't need a tattoo to make me remember everything; it's primarily there to always remind me of a turning point in my life.

CREAMY TOMATO PASTA

Since it was my rest day, I decided to cook something really special for my family. It's not everyday that I could spend time in the kitchen but I make sure to do so everytime I get a day off.

Like most Saturdays, my daughter was taken by her grandma to the Mall. They left in the afternoon and were due to be home in less than half an hour. I had nothing to do so I volunteered to do the cooking. One quick look inside the cupboards made me decide what to cook. I wanted something fast and easy to prepare yet delicious and satisfying at the same time. My daughter is pretty picky when it comes to food so I chose one of her favorites.
I cooked Creamy Tomato Pasta for dinner.

Turn that radio on, rev up the stove and let's start cooking! 

1) Cook spaghetti noodles as per package instructions. Of course, drizzle water with oil and add a pinch of salt. I used 250g of noodles for this dish.

2) Dice one medium-sized onion and mince four cloves of garlic. Chop the ham.

3) Once the skillet is hot enough, put one tablespoon of butter and one teaspoon olive oil. Stir until butter is melted. Add the onions. Add the garlic once onions are translucent.

4) Time to put in the ham. (This step can be omitted or you can use any other "sahog" that you want, i.e hotdog, chicken bits) Stir around.

5) Pour in the tomato sauce. (Now's the time to add seasonings/spices; I added a pinch of salt, a dash of ground black pepper, a pinch of ground red chili, and a dash of sugar.) Stir around. Let it cook until the sauce turns into a lovely dark red.

6) Remove from heat. Add a cup of cream. Stir around.

7) Throw in the spaghetti noodles. Toss gently. Make sure each noodle is thoroughly covered with the creamy sauce.

8) Serve. You can sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and some chopped basil leaves.

Yep. There you go folks. All done in less than 25 minutes.

Right about the time I finished cooking, my daughter and her grandmother arrived from their trip to the mall. Just in time! We ate this dish together with a serving of fried chicken marinated in lime juice and fish sauce. Perfect!

Why don't you try cooking this dish? It's definitely worth it.





The Verdict:

Deliciousness: 5 / 5
Quickness: 5 / 5
Easiness: 5 / 5
Budget-friendliness: 5 / 5




Want another Pasta Recipe? Try checking SPICY TUNA PASTA.

SPICY TUNA PASTA

Just got home from a very tiring day at work and I was famished.

I've spent a full minute looking inside a pot and wishing that it's something I could eat. But I could only see Paksiw, and sad to say, I couldn't eat it.  (I don't eat Paksiw for two reasons; one is that I couldn't tolerate the smell, (the smell of the vinegar irritates my nose). The other reason, probably a stronger point than the first, is that eating Paksiw makes me very itchy; red patches would be appearing on my skin and would be bothering me for 24 hours. You're probably thinking "ang arte naman nito!", and I'd gladly accept your opinion if only you are in my shoes everytime the itching is too much to bear.)

I had no choice but to come up with something to eat. I scoured the cupboards and pondered on which food item can go with which. I could see a bottle of olive oil, some eggs, and all kinds of spices in one of the cupboards, and in another one there were two cans of spicy tuna, a pack of spaghetti noodles, and some cans of... oh wait, wait... did I say Spaghetti noodles? Eureka!

I was starving and I needed to fix myself some grub, so I had to move fast. Right there and then I decided to make tuna pasta. I have cooked that dish three times before and I'm pretty much familiar with it now. Unlike those times though, today I had to settle with what the cupboards contain. I had to stick to the basics.

Without further hoopla, here are the steps for my simplified version of SPICY TUNA PASTA:

1) Of course, cook the spaghetti noodles as per package instructions. Boil in water drizzled with a little oil and some salt. The oil will prevent the noodles from sticking to each other. The salt will add taste to the noodles. I used olive oil instead of regular cooking oil and salt. By the way, I used 250g of noodles for this.

2) Pop the tuna cans open and dice the onions and tomatoes. As you can see in the picture, I used a regular can of Century Tuna and a small can of San Marino Corned Tuna, both in spicy variants. (Those two were the only cans of Spicy Tuna I've found.) As for the tomatoes and onions, I used two medium ones of each.

3) The tomatoes go in first. Let sit until an "almost-dry" look is achieved. Add the onions. Stir. I wanted some garlic in there but I wasn't able to find some. If you want some garlicky taste you can definitely use some garlic in your version. You can add vegetables too, some bellpeppers and some greens would be great. They will also add color to the dish.

4) Once the onions are translucent, add the spicy tuna. Stir around. Let sit for atleast 5 minutes. Now's the time to add spices/seasoning if you want your tuna pasta to come out according to your desired taste. I didn't use any seasoning for this version, though.

5) Throw in the spaghetti noodles. Toss gently. Make sure each noodle is thoroughly covered by the sauce.

6) Serve. This dish goes well with Parmesan cheese. Lucky for me I've found some Parmesan (and a can of Pepsi) inside the refrigerator.

Well, there you go. That's how I survived this afternoon of starvation. Haha..

Well, seriously, I can't cook. I have tried to cook several dishes in the past, but they were, of course, cooked by an amateur trying to imitate recipes from a cookbook. My version of the dishes were good and they satisfied me. They were delicious enough, although I couldn't speak for people with discriminating tastes. Maybe I'm just lucky enough that I have the motivation to cook and the hunger to be better at it. Besides, I also make sure to pour in the two main ingredients in every dish while cooking for other people (and myself)...  yes, I'm talking about love and happiness. No  kidding!

Having said that, then it's not impossible for you to whip this up yourself (and ace it). If you need to come up with a quick but delicious dish; say for instance you have unexpected visitors, or you want a welcome dish to bring to the new neighbor, when you want to give your hubby (and the kids) an impromptu romantic dinner, or even when you just need something to eat other than Paksiw, then you can surely try this.

You can definitely ace this. Believe me, it's just childplay.


The Verdict:

Deliciousness: 5 / 5
Quickness: 5 / 5
Easiness: 5 / 5
Budget-friendliness: 5 / 5

You might also like: Creamy Tomato Pasta

BAGUIO ESCAPADE

So I've got a really crazy itinerary last Saturday. I met up with my cousins, Ram and Marc at SM Megamall at 4pm. At 8pm I moved out of my apartment in Pasig and by 9pm got all my things transported to my mother's house in Quezon City. I found myself in a car bound to Baguio by 10pm. Wow, talk about crazy.

Ordering Dinner: Mcdo somewhere out there @ 1am (Feb 26)

It was a roadtrip like no other; it's very much unplanned. We were just contemplating going to Baguio and before we knew it, we're already heading that way. I was with my cousins- Kuya Reypi was in the driver's seat, Me on the passenger seat, along with Mat, then Marc, Ram, Amor and Vaun, and their toddler son Andrei at the back seat. We were all crammed inside a small car, insensitive to it's cries of pain and suffering. 

My bestfriends during the trip

Like what I said on my previous post, I am brokenhearted, alright. These people wouldn't be able to bring me along if I wasn't. I was really touched by their attempts to make me feel better so I just couldn't decline the invitation; the guys were trying to cheer me up. Like any brokenhearted chick, I brought my bestfriends along- my small blankie and can(s) of beer. Haha!

Touchdown Baguio @ 5:30 AM

The trip was amazing. It was really nice traveling at night- no traffic, cool night air, and less stress. The long and winding road was such a pain in the butt, but it was tolerable. It's also great that the long travel time gave us lots of time to snooze. Of course, I won't be saying the same if I was the one driving.

Finally, we reached Baguio at dawn. People were milling around floats and taking countless pictures. Within minutes, we're among them. We took photos of ourselves with different floats in the background. (You'd probably wonder how my skimpy shorts kept me warm from the Baguio cold- well, nevermind, it wasn't cold there at all. Haha!)

Ooooh... Showtime!

Eventually, the sun began to shine and the float parade begun. (I used some of the photos here.The other photos are available in the gallery if you would care to check them out.)

Uh Oh! An attack!

Naruto in the flesh! Haha!

Taking pictures of road signs (incase we get lost)

Yumyum!

There were like, millions of people there! (exaggerated tone)

There's Shalani, along with other TV5 artists

There's Dingdong with Marian

And there's Ryan Bang and his bangs (with the Showtime Family)

We watched the parade under the scorching sun for more than two hours, amidst people who seemed oblivious to the heat. The floats were all so beautiful and tastefully done. I was so amazed at the large number of flowers used in each of them. I was so inspired by the effort and hours spent in crafting them into the beauties before us.

There were celebrities, too.. and the crowd eagerly cheered for them. People stared at TV5 artists and took pictures. They screamed when they saw Dingdong, obviously ignoring the fact that he's got Marian beside him. They laughed their hearts out when they saw the showtime family .(Who wouldn't laugh if you see Ryan Bang in person?) Gosh, that guy is sooooo cute with his bangs... haha!

Alright, people! Fall in line, please!

After the float parade, people made their way to.. guess where? SM BAGUIO, of course! There were so many people trying to get in at the same time that the security guards at the entrance had a really hard time. Once inside, we scoured the foodcourt for any empty table.. boo, that's wishful thinking! It's very crowded. You would really have to wait for people to finish eating so that you can occupy the seat once they leave. Fortunately, after some minutes of gawking at people and some killer-looks directed at other people gawking at the table we're waiting on, we were able to get one. Hay, finally!

A crowded foodcourt

Once the hunger had been satiated, we then braved the heavy traffic to get to the Mines View Park. We tried following another route so that we could reach it faster, relying mainly on Ram's GPS-enabled phone for directions. We have a schedule to follow and we should be back in Manila by evening. So there we were, driving through unfamiliar side alleys with abandon. Bahala na si Batman!

Lady Luck had been good to us once again, and we reached Mines View Park just fine.

You've probably been to Baguio and you're pretty familiar with the sights and sounds of Mines View Park. I guess I'm running out of English words to use right about now and I don't want to exhaust them, so I'd let the pictures do the talking. Haha.. that's my terrible attempt at being funny, okay?! Anyway, I think the pictures can tell the story better at this point...

Cool, eh?

Shirts kayo diyan!

Mementos (I so wanted that dreamcatcher!)

Familiar?

A very good tip

Loved looking at plants and herbs

Okay, I was hungry! (from all the walking and roaming around)

Tired..

There, how effective was my pic-blogging?

Anyway, after almost three hours of aimlessly roaming around Mines View Park, we begun our dreaded trip back to Manila. The traffic was so heavy that vehicles could only move an inch every minute or so. Good thing the radio's working or we'd probably die out of boredom while sitting in traffic.

Traffic! If you just can see the cars all lined up.

Bye Lion...

Okay, let's wait for 45 years.

We reached Manila a little after midnight. Everyone was so exhausted. It was a tiring trip alright. 




This escapade didn't fix my broken heart. It didn't help me get over the pain I'm feeling. But at least I had fun- and I was able to smile, even for a day.