Saturday, January 22, 2011

I was looking up natural home remedies to simple beauty problems.
There was a site I came across and it was fantastic.
Vinegar to rinse the hair, olive oil to deep-condition it.
Petroleum jelly for the feet, to leave overnight.
Until it suggested that I put Preparation-H under my eyes to reduce the puffiness.
Ok, what's next, bathe in someone's breast milk?

Friday, January 21, 2011

Here's a treat

I cooked twice today.
Sue me fore being such an achiever.
Okay.
This morning I didn't want to wake my friend up, so I sneaked out to buy some ingredients.
An hour later, we were enjoying a fresh batch of vanilla cinnamon french toast and mushrooms sauteed in cayenne pepper.
So we lounged around like retired businessmen, Facebooking and watching The Lonely Island music videos while the drizzle took its time and flooded our neighborhood.
(Poor drainage, poor people.)
Come evening, I still had some energy left, which I spent grocery shopping and doing some magic in the kitchen.
While watching the awesomest Old Testament parody movie ever - Year One, starring Jack Black and Michael Cera - I effortlessly whipped up two to-die-for (there is NO room for modesty here) treats: French onion soup paired with baguette slices drowning in Gruyene nad parmesan cheese, and stir-fried orange beef with cashew nuts.
Cooking brings out the subservient Asian girl in me.
But I don't take comments lightly.
If you say that my culinary creation needs a bit more salt or reminds you of another dish, get ready to hear from a tiger (also from Asia).
I guess my defensiveness in the kitchen stems from the fact that I spent most of my womanhood trying to avoid cooking because I didn't want to disappoint myself or the people who would partake in my meals, and now, finally I am crawling out of my cave called Kitchiphobia (yes, I made that up, dork), so no one rain on my parade.
And I made it a point to tell everyone how I feel every single time I put on my imaginary apron.
And until now, not a single friend of mine has had anything bad to say about my salmon in grapefruit sauce, or my honey ginger chicken.
Go figure.

Friday, January 14, 2011

"you have to have a past colorful enough to look back at when you finally settle down" - Kat Canillas

pwede pwede!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I welcome today's good news.
A healthy kidney for Mama.
A profession of admiration.
A new song to hum to.
A renewed faith in the form of a big fat smile to the heavens.
Amen!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Complete Womanhood

Last year I had my fill of sumptuous meals, thanks to people like Ladybug, Galo, Jen, Mhykie, and everyone else who cooked for me.
I enjoyed taking a whiff of an elaborate dish being prepared by a good friend, and looking over their shoulder to estimate the time left til eating time.
Being handed a plate and cutlery was like being told "you deserve my time and efforts, so here ya go, chew away".

Not this year.
This year I am going to return the favor. Wink.
Why? I love my friends and I want them to see me not as a mere parasite who eats off their kitchen, but someone who is actually capable of creating something beautiful that will nourish them and fill their stomachs and souls. I made that up just now thank you very much.

Also I realized that even though I have two ovaries and hundreds (if not thousands) of eggs, I wouldn't 100 per cent feel like a real woman if I didn't know how to cook. God knows how many envious stares I gave my friends last year for knowing what coriander or a sherry looked like, and also knowing what to do with them. I wanted to quickly learn, but there's no such thing. We learn everything in this life. So I needed to start fast. I promised to start fast. (If you are a feminist and ready to kill me, well boo ya! This is how I feel and feelings are never wrong.)

So I started cooking.
A two-course meal for two very understanding guests - Fifi and Dante.
I made Beautiful Salad - spinach leaves, mandarin oranges, dried strawberries, walnuts and honey, balsamic vinegar.
And for the main course, I made Salmon Steak in Grapefruit Sauce. Good for the heart and not at all bad for the wallet.

Because I got good reviews for that Friday lunch, I volunteered to do another one next weekend. So I guess it's another successful venture for me. And it might delight you to know that my cooking skills are now happily sitting next to my eggs on a bench called "complete womanhood".

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Dear body,

Please stop expanding. It's not funny!

Love,
Zeena

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Dear 23-year-old self,

Thank you.

For being stupidly impulsive and nodding yourself all the way to a big dump of trouble.
Because of your sick decision to sell out to the world.
I could not have done what you did. You're the bravest 23-year-old I know.
You have so many plans and some of them seem unattainable, but you'd rather be delusional than be convinced that something you want to happen is impossible.
A gigantic suitcase and a friend with an even more gigantic heart are with you, and they are all you need to survive.
You don't pity yourself and mourn your plight, but laugh at the kind of adventure you put yourself through.
I won't try to belittle what you have done for me by giving you a high-five or a tight hug.
I will try to relive you, my 23-year-old self.
It's the only way I can ever experience what you have, to may homage.
Bonus: your friends are here! They followed suit to pursue their own goals.
So you are awesome. And if you say I am too, I will be on my way to make it happen again.

Love,
Zeena

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

After a month-long holiday that kept me in the company of my family and friends and kept me busy with all kinds of gigs -- from taking care of Agnes our dog, to a pa-morningan at the karaoke bar, to a trip to the beach with my dearest friends -- and eating non-stop just because food was always available, I am here again on my belly in my Dubai bed that I share with Fifi, waiting for time to pass until it's time to shower and get ready to go to work, playing viral videos on YouTube to kill the possibility of total silence.

That is all I have to say. Happy 2011!