Pandesal

Last Monday I got a call from GMA 7, inquiring about our famous Stuffed Pandesal. The following day, we agreed to doing a segment with them for Jessica Soho's show entitled Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho. The TV show is in a news-magazine format that features insightful stories that cover a wide range of topics. It also focuses on themes with human interest and socio-cultural relevance. Peabody-awardee Jessica Soho hosts Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (One in Heart), and the show airs on primetime every Saturday. This Saturday’s episode is about breads, entitled “Pandesal”.

According to their letter, “Part of the story aims to show your famous stuffed pandesal. We are asking your good office to allow us to feature your stuffed pandesal and be able to share to our dear viewers somehow the process or some basic demo you could provide to us. Be able to present your different varieties of pandesal, as well as to discuss to us how this concept comes (sic) up.”

How does one tell the world it was my idea? Not entirely original of course, because we Filipinos have been eating pandesal with palaman since time immemorial, sometimes with meat, sometimes with pansit. But it was OUR stuffed pandesal idea that worked. We deliver daily to 300 stores and we have sold over 10 million pieces of pandesal since 2003. However, I was more concerned NOT to look like siopao, and so I called on Bong to do my hair and make-up, so I'll look more natural on cam. Duh.







My sister from KSA tells me I don't have to worry since I would look much thinner beside Jessica Soho. As much as I'd like an autograph, she wasn't there, my dear sis; we were just accompanied by a production staff, segment producer and 2 cameramen.

Thanks to Chef Maricel of Purefoods for accompanying us in this program.
Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho airs every Saturday on primetime, 8:30 PM. The pandesal episode airs this Saturday, April 26.

Dampa sa Blue Wave

It was early Sunday morning when I felt like going to Dampa, where Sony has been going with his family for lunch,and raving about it. Earlier, we left QC at past 2 AM, celebrating Chichi's 22nd birthday, where everyone was either playing poker, toing-its, in -between, or Boggle/Scrimmage while drinking and eating. We were also celebrating our first badminton tournament try- it was a good try, for Buboy and Cha, Mike and me.

Meanwhile, L, I knew, was going to massacre me at Boggle, and he did. He wiped everyone out while my boys and I try to outnumber him, we were completely outsmarted by L. What I nerd, I keep shouting, while Macoy and Mike try to pit the Montessori-schooled vs L from Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Red was beside me,and he kept trying, even if he kept messing up the rules. Haha- no jumping!

Macoy: Ano ba ang red?
A/L/Mike: Pula!
Macoy: Oo nga noh!
April from Montessori (after several doses of tequila): May word ba na huh?
A/L/Mike/Macoy: Huh???!!






















Anyway, I texted Mama and bunso that we were going to Dampa for lunch. Papa couldn't go and I knew it was because of "the horses",as Miguel would say, but we had an interesting time. The wet market was segmented into different areas, thus, salmon, tuna and blue marlin in one area, all the prawns near the entrance, and at the far end, what I came there for- the crabs. When we neared the area, we heard all the ladies chatter up, calling out to us to buy the crab from their stall. It was funny because it felt like all the crabs were talking to me all at the same time. Mama and I settled for 2 big crabs, which cost P450 a kilo.




















We had buttered prawns and tempura prawns for bunso, inihaw na pusit for Papa (take-home), grilled blue marlin for L, and chili garlic and steamed crab for me and Mama. Yummy!

Now, A Badminton Addict

Did I mention that I joined my first badminton tournament last Saturday, which was organized by my good friend Divine and her Don Antonio Sports Center badminton group?
Here are some pictures from that exhilarating event. My partner and bord Mike keeps saying we're screwed because we were leveled D, when I am basically a beginner, and Mike's Drop Zone group at Power and Speed in QC's best mixed doubles partner is also classified as level D.

We didn't stand a chance, but yey, Grace and Jett won the level D mixed doubles finals. I looked at our pictures and saw Mike's stance and that of Grace, and figured I need to move more, across the court and learn how to rotate better.


Next time I'm joining a tournament, I'd try a ladies doubles. But it was FUN anyway, in spite the nervousness, the jitters, and the almost nauseous feeling just before the competition. I couldn't eat, and all I had was a Dole Cavendish banana, Powerade and water. By the second game, sweat was pouring off my face and my knees were weaker, but I stood fighting. What a game!










Thanks, DEP!
I'll see you in court! (the badminton court, not your court, of course).

Learning to Say No

Talk about being back-blogged!

My calendar is full of details on my expenses, meeting schedules, badminton games and to do list.

Amidst the busy- ness of it all, I have managed to define values that are important to me, learned how to define my goals both professionally and personally, and I am planning my week, planning daily. I hope to live in alignment with the values I set out at the beginning of this new chapter of my life.

I learned that living by this guiding principle of 7 Habits is not easy, although a lot of it I have already been pre-programmed to do, but to define values that I hold important, and to actually live according to those values is sometimes still befuddling me, the designer and creator of "my sea of opportunity" (regaining more control of my future). For instance, as I jot down each of my expenses for the day, I smile when I tick off my badminton goals and it isn't so hard to swallow the expenses incurred on that day. After all, my number one value on the list is fitness. The clarifying statement goes something like this:

I am taking care of my body, choosing what to eat, and exercising, to keep me fit, enabling me to live life to the fullest.


Then I list down another expense, this time for a dinner out at Greenbelt 5's Chateau 1771, which I thought, has a great view of Greenbelt 3 while we talk to our dear friend who I see, maybe twice a year only (because she's based in Malaysia), plus her Malaysian friend is also here, a first-time visitor in the Philippines. I flinch when I see the menu, knowing the price is jacked up because of location, location, location. My butterflied prawns were tastier at Conti's than at Chateau, at half the price! I shrug it off, saying to myself, next time I will do better in suggesting the restaurant, or in selecting what to order. After all, one of my other values is frugality.

" No expense. Be fair to others and to myself. In other words, waste nothing," as Covey puts it, or in my own words, " Save, save, save."


I justify this by saying Love is another value I carefully picked.

" I will show respect to all people, devote quality time to my friends and family. I care and love my team. I want to bring out the best in all of these people I value, reaching out to them in heart, mind, body and spirit."

Good try, as I hear on the courts, on my first week. I think I have been most successful in aligning my fitness value. The past two weeks, I formed two badminton game buddies, one with L's friends (we play on weekends), and another one at work, also successfully converting my gym membership into a badminton court fees subsidy.
(Yey!). Next thing I know, I played Wednesday with the Pepsi group, during the long weekend, I played from 6:30 to 10:30 PM last Saturday (San Lo, Power and Speed), played 2 hours at Don Antonio with Divina's group and my group, trained 2 hours yesterday and signed up for my first tournament on Saturday. Woo- hoo!

Last night, I fell asleep watching A Series of Unfortunate Events while a massage therapist was working on my calf muscles.

Good try, good try.

Let's see how this works out, how I weave what I work on daily into my carefully selected values. There are two more values I have selected, which are excellence and having a closer, personal relationship with God, who is my guide, my Saviour and my friend.

You know what I find the most gratifying action out of this? I can learn to say NO to all the other stuff that are not aligned to what I set out to do. I've always found it difficult to say no.