SINCE 'KRUX

Still upset over Mickey D's unreasonable price increase (147 pesos for a supersized Big Mac meal!?!), I treated myself the other night to HOTSHOTS Flame-Grilled Burgers. What started out as a small burger joint 10 years ago has expanded into a chain of restos with branches in Indonesia and Singapore.

After a 20 minute drive I see this...

Outside

The Menu

Heart stoppers

Chicano Burger? EL OH EL

Pano-Hotshots (click to see bigger image)

The Ultimate Cheese Burger. Note to Hotshots. For dine in, I suggest not to fully wrap the burgers since they are served in trays. Word to In-N-Out. It ruins the presentation. Look! Good thing I wasn't disappointed with the taste. The unsalted homemade potato chips on the side is a nice addition to the burger.

Twisted fries FTMFW!!! Next time I'll bring my own ranch dressing. Yum

Cookies! 55 pesos

Worst milkshake ever. I can't believe I paid 99 pesos for this crap. If I wanted to get high I would've gone to Mercury Drug and copped me a bottle of Robitussin coz I swear it tasted like cough syrup. I tried drinking it for 30 minutes and left with this much in the glass. Coming from a milkshake lover, I beg Hotshots to change its recipe. You can not have a legitimate burger joint with this shit!!!

From this day on, reviews will be accompanied by ratings. 10 MOJOs = PERFECT SCORE.

Food: 9 out of MOJOS
Drinks: -31 MOJOS (yes, that's a negative) even though they serve beer
Selection: 10 out of 10 MOJOS (who would've thunked they'd serve fried chicken and spaghetti, LAWLZ)
Facilities: 7 out of 10 MOJOS (open late night, limited parking, interior paint scratched/chipped)

THE JACKET

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| Posted in | Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2008

Filipinos from the motherland have the weirdest jacket preferences.

I don't blame my people.

We live in a tropical country with only two seasons.

Wet and dry. Both humid and hot.

It's funny how most of us (including myself back in the day) would bring the nicest jackets out as soon as the sun fails to fully shine. It's more about fashion than function.

Leather, hoody, bubble/down, track, velour, nylon, wind, knitted sweater, rain, trench, wool, etc. Name it and I'm pretty sure I've seen it on the streets of Manila.

I say we should only stick to two kinds.

1. Cotton jacket/sweater for watching movies (it can get really cold inside), visiting not so warm places like Tagaytay or Baguio and at the office (FREE AIRCONDITIONING FTW!).

2. Rain jacket (water resistant) for the rainy weather. Duh.

Which brings me to why I published this entry.

More than a month ago, my coworker borrowed my vintage Nike track jacket. I let her use it since she looked like she was cold. I didn't mind it at all even though she annoyed the shit out of me. There's a reason why my other name is Mr. Nice. Ha ha.

At the end of the shift, I was in a hurry to go home and she was still busy finishing up so I told her to keep my jacket in her locker. A few weeks passed and still no sign of my jacket. No, I never asked for it back since she was the one who borrowed it. She should return it even without me reminding her. That's how it's supposed to be, right? You borrow something. You return it once you're done.

Then one day, it was hella freezing at work and I only had a v-neck on. My coworker Alex told me that I should've brought a jacket. I told him I didn't want to bring one anymore because the other one was never returned. He asked who borrowed it then right when I said the name he said, "Shit! Ikaw rin (You too?)!?! I swear it was like a Seinfeld episode. Turns out the same girl borrowed a jacket from him weeks before she borrowed mine and never returned it also.

I want to know where our jackets are. Does she have a collection of jackets from random people? Is she jacking jackets for her man?

I SWEAR I'LL BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF HER BABY DADDY IF EVER I SEE HIM WEARING MY JACKET.

SMH

The missing jacket

PEOPLE DO VISIT AND READ MY SITE

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| Posted in | Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2008

Sneakerhead Carlo aka tmac360 from famed site niketalk.com sent me an SMS last week after reading my I LOVE RAIN entry.

Watch the vid to read the rest of the message.

Dude got jokes.

Ha ha.

I still can't believe he won 10 pairs (or was it a dozen) of size 10 Kobe III MVPs. That's some luck (or curse - depends on whether you're a Kobe fan or not) you got there my man.

I AM UPSET

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| Posted in | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008

VERY UPSET.

FORGIVE ME FOR TYPING IN ALL CAPS.

BUT I AM UPSET.

VERY VERY UPSET.

I WOKE UP THIS MORNING, WENT DOWNSTAIRS AND LOOKED FOR JESSIE, MY FAVORITE MAID.

MY SISTER WAS EATING. MY MOM WAS DOING SOMETHING. I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT BECAUSE I AM UPSET.

VERY UPSET.

AFTER I CALLED JESSIE'S NAME THRICE, MY MOM TOLD ME THAT THE MAID ASKED FOR A DAY OFF.

I LET OUT A LOUD "UGH!!!" AND WENT BACK UPSTAIRS.

WHY?

I KNEW SHE DIDN'T TAKE A DAY OFF. I KNEW MY MOM RAN HER OFF WITH HER MEAN ANTICS. SHE ALWAYS DOES THIS TO THE MAIDS. JESSIE WAS PROBABLY OUR 31ST MAID TO QUIT SINCE I MOVED BACK HERE LATE MARCH OF THIS YEAR.

UNFREAKING-BELIEVALBE.

1 HOUR LATER DURING LUNCH MY MOM TELLS ME SHE HAD TO LET JESSIE GO BECAUSE BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH...

I DIDN'T LISTEN. I DIDN'T CARE ANYMORE.

JESSIE WAS THE PERFECT MAID.

I ONLY ASKED HER TO DO 3 THINGS FOR ME.

PREPARE MY FIRST MEAL.

IRON MY WORK SHIRT.

AND TAKE OUT MY TRASH BIN.

SHE'D GREET ME "GOOD MORNING, GOOD AFTERNOON AND GOOD EVENING" WITH SINCERITY.

SHE'D SAY "WELCOME" AFTER I SAY "THANK YOU."

WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR FROM A MAID!?!

I DON'T EVEN DEPEND ON MAIDS FOR SHIT I CAN DO ON MY OWN.

MAIDS ARE ONLY SUPPOSED TO HELP OUT, NOT BRING ABOUT WORLD PEACE.

I LOVE MY MOTHER BUT DAMN SHE NEVER RUNS OUT OF REASONS TO KICK A MAID OUT.

I'D CATCH HER ONCE IN A WHILE PICKING ON THE MAIDS AND I JUST TELL HER STRAIGHT OUT TO STOP IT.

MOM IF YOU'RE READING THIS PLEASE STOP IT!!!

I CAN'T BE DEALING WITH NEW MAIDS EVERY OTHER WEEK.

I HATE THIS SHIT

* SIGH *

CHIMICHANGA HEAVEN

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| Posted in | Posted on Thursday, September 11, 2008

I love Mexican food. Too bad the Philippines only has a few decent taquerias. Tia Maria's and Mexicali. Only 2 joints. Over 7,000 thousand islands. No, your favorite Nacho King outlet doesn't count.

When I was in SF last year, I must've visited more than 20 places looking for the perfect CHIMICHANGA before I discovered this place.

Taqueria El Sol

Saw this place coming from HUF SF, went inside and asked if they served chimichangas. The nice lady behind the counter said no but she can prepare one for me. After that day, I always made sure I'd stop by for a bite whenever I was in the area. I swear they were about to name it after me when I last visited.

For more reviews on Taqueria El Sol, click here. I'd like to remind you though that I only went to this place for the chimichanga and nothing else so don't blame me if you end up not liking the food after ordering other items from the menu.

For my NT post, click here.

My man and fellow NT member specksdominate and his wife (weLegendary) are currently in CA and they visited El Sol 2 days ago after I recommended it.

Some photos from their day trip.

Don't even bother looking for it on the menu. It's not there. You have to specially order it.

Choose your meat and beans

Here we go!

Deep-fried burritos FTMFW!!!

Cook lets it sit for a few. Excess oil FTMFL!!!

VOILA!

Satisfied customers

Thanks to Mark and Kheiy for the photos. I'm glad you enjoyed your San Francisco food trip. Enjoy the rest of your travels. See you guys in Manila soon.

7 YEARS AGO...

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| Posted in | Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2008

I saw it happen on CNN and Fox News.

I couldn't believe it. When the first plane hit, I knew right away that it was a terrorist attack. The World Trade Center has been a long time target by terrorist organizations, some of which have direct links to Muslim extremists in the Philippines. After the second tower was hit, I told myself that World War 3 is upon us. I held my son in my arms. It was indeed a terrifying event even if I only witnessed it on television. They showed people jumping from the buildings and falling to their deaths. People running. People crying. People covered in ashes when the towers fell. The same videos over and over again.

I sent text messages to some my relatives and friends in the west coast. I forgot most of them were still in bed that early and I became the bearer of bad news. A very bad news. Up to this day most of them still remember the message I sent them and how shocked they were upon reading it.

I don't know anyone who died that day but 9/11 will never be forgotten as it changed the world forever and has affected us all one way or the other.

R.I.P.

FIRST DAY TUESDAY

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| Posted in | Posted on Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Got my much needed sleep during my rest days (Sunday and Monday) and started off my work week on a good note.

Leftover Montecristo sammich and fries for breakfast. Yum

Laundry day. I love laundry days. Two simultaneous loads. My fav laundromat FTMFW!

Colored only. No racist.

Whites. Oh look! Some coloreds got in the mix. I hope they turn out fine.

Grabbed some food before heading to work. I wanted some Mickey D's but not after they raised their prices (more on that in the future) so I tried Jollibee's new dogs

Remember my rant a couple of weeks back? Large fries drive-thru FTL :\

Chili dog. Enh

Damn. I just realized right before I hit the PUBLISH POST button that I ate fries twice in one day. That's not good at all. I think I need to start watching what I eat.

I LOVE RAIN

3

| Posted in | Posted on Monday, September 08, 2008

To me it feels like it washes away EVERYTHING.

But I'm scurred of lightning.

Got stuck in heavy traffic after a sudden heavy downpour and snapped this photo. Imagine this zapping your ass.

It seriously felt like I was in a horror movie.

Almost zero visibility, low on gas and in the middle of the woods (okay not really, I drove through UP campus - haha).

I love it.

TROPICAL STORMS FTMFW!

THE BEACH AND SOME RAIN = MY KIND OF HIGH

NOT YOUR AVERAGE BURGER

2

| Posted in | Posted on Monday, September 15, 2008