In answer to Sheila’s request:
A photo of the best chocolate cake you’ve ever had~ XD (plus a watermark of the address and contact number of the shop where you can find it)

As much as I love chocolate, I can’t seem to fully appreciate chocolate cakes. I mean, I eat them, I like them, but they’re not really high up in my cake list. I’ve had my fair share of good chocolate cakes — there’s that very rich chocolate cake Heinji baked for Rey back in 2004 that was great but after a few bites, I totally gave up on it. There’s also that chocolate cake Anton bought in Pampanga.

My favorite, however, was this molten chocolate cake Chef Rob of Cyma surprised us with:

Photo borrowed from Kainpinoy.com. Too lazy to re-do this with the evilmartian.org watermark.

Listed in the menu as Skolatina, this delectable dessert costs Php210. Quite pricey, I know, but it was so worth it. Everybody in the table (and in the whole food tour) agrees.

Cyma’s first branch was in Boracay, but they have also opened their Metro-Manila branches in Trinoma, Greenbelt 2 and Shangri-La Plaza mall.

From Anna D:
Ooooooooh ahahahaha. A photo of anything/one that would instantly make you happy for the rest of the day. =)

 
I love receiving mail. Whether it’s a postcard, a greeting card, or even just the registry notice from the post office makes me happy.

 
Even happier still if the envelop contains a book I’ve been wanting for a long time.

Yes, I’ve given Book Mooch a chance.

This was prompted by encounters with people who also travel. One travels because she loves animals and loves seeing them in their natural habitat. Another goes out of his way to participate in different festivals around the country. Another one got the bug from her father, and travels to immerse herself in the culture.

Why do I travel? It’s not for the animals, I’m not that much of an animal lover, though swimming with the whale shark was an awesome experience. It’s not because of the festivals, unless you count the Sydney Mardi Gras. It’s certainly not because of the culture, because culture for me starts and ends with food.

I find myself lacking the passion for traveling lately. I’ve carefully marked the dates when I’ll have a long weekend and planned on making the most out of them and going out of town. I already know the places I want to go to, but somehow, I can’t bring myself to finalize any plans. The days are coming and going, and I can’t decide whether to go. I’ve come to a decision several times, but I find myself changing my mind and stalling a bit more. Soon, May will be here and I will be left with nowhere to go.

And I don’t think that I’d mind that much. There are so many things on my mind lately, and the only thing I want to do is to escape. That’s why I travel I think. To escape. To leave my life for a moment and for a couple of days, live the life of another person. Only to come back to the same mess I left behind.

I’m always craving for something new. It doesn’t have to be overly exciting; change is enough excitement for me. I don’t really feel the need to travel right now; I just want to escape. And the place I want to escape to is the place that has always been labeled as the last place I want to travel to.

I’m never really competitive. I never thought I’m good at anything, so I never made any effort. Besides, I don’t like making effort. And I don’t like to lose.

But this year has been different. Since the start of 2008, I found myself actively joining contests online. There was this one contest where we had to submit photos from an event. Another contest asked for reasons why you should win. I made a serious effort for all my entries; I can’t allow myself to submit anything half-baked. It has to be good, and it has to be worthy to be called mine.

I never won. Not once. I am a bitter loser. Because of all the effort I put into my entry, I nitpick the other contender’s entries. I hate losing, specially if I know I did my best.

But I’ll never stop joining. As someone who hardly participates, I now find myself determined to win. To be recognized for my hard work.

I am changing. And I want to change.

And I’m down right now.

The smallest things annoy me, and I find it hard to open up to people. I’m not me when I’m like this, but at the same time, this IS me.

To top it off, even my stats are commiserating with me — they’re down as well. Crap.

Nina,
Your workplace is about to undergo a dramatic series of changes, likely due to some investment in communications or networking devices. If you work at home, you could be buying a new computer or signing up for a new Internet account. Regardless, you’ll have much better connections when the day is done.

What the hell? Hmm, I sure hope Bayantel would upgrading my account again XD

To top it off, my flickr pro account is expiring (flickr just gave me three extra months of Pro goodness! I can put off worrying about this until June, but I won’t say no to the gift of flickr username: nina_theevilone ^_^), four of my domains are expiring in April, and I am running low on moo cards.

Kailangang kumayod!

And I better spend the rest of March at home -_- Oh crap, does that mean I can’t go to the gym this month as well? Gah.

 
De-stressing usually involves me going out. Whether alone, with my friends or with my family. It doesn’t have to be very far, I just need to get out. I need to walk, to see people and to see the sky. More often than not, de-stressing means spending money. On food, on clothes, on things I don’t really need.

In a way, I use stress the way people sometimes use alcohol and drunkeness - an excuse. It’s an excuse for the way I acted, for the things I say. Coupled with PMS, me under stress is not someone you would want to cross.

When the stress (and PMS) has passed, I am much calmer. Gone are the negative vibes and murderous thoughts, in comes the fond reminiscing and gentle voice. Then I think back on my brash actions and harsh words. How I must have hurt people with the things I have said. I feel much regret over things that can’t be undone and words that I can’t take back, but in hindsight, I realize that I am merely expressing what I felt, and in the heat of the moment, I have blurted out what I really think.

I’ve deluded myself into thinking that I am a much better person now than I was four years ago. Actually, I *am* better now, except that I still haven’t totally shaken off some of the traits that drove my friends away. I guess some of them here to stay — the personality disorder and my friends.

 
…but please, touch me softly.

Being silly is fun, but being silly with friends is even better.

It’s not often that I let go. I can be a control freak, even when I’m drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Liquor hardly ever taste good to me, but surprisingly, that evening everything tasted so good. It was great to throw caution in the wind and just drink. Being drunk gave me reason (or excuse) to act stupidly.

But I didn’t. Instead I went out, got some fresh air and drank a liter of water.

It was okay to imbibe, I think. Once in a while.