literally.

which is unfortunate because i really really like the stuff. but every time i drink coffee i get queasy, dizzy, clammy, and nauseated.

at first i thought it was a reaction to caffeine. but then i realized i wouldn't get the same symptoms with tea or colas. and one day, i ordered an espresso - decaf - and almost died. well, not really almost died but i felt really really rotten. and so i looked it up and found out that there was such a thing as an allergy to coffee with my symptoms being pretty classic.

rats.

what do you get when you throw meryl streep on a greek island together with the music of abba? pure magic, that's what.

mamma mia has got to be one of the best films i've seen in a long long while. it's just one straight totally entertaining ride. not wanting to pound you with some deep message about the meaning of life. not heavy handed showing off what different film making techniques can do. films like that are sometimes about as fun as reading a term paper. how about something fun for crying out loud?

and this is where mamma mia succeeds superlatively. fun.

meryl streep was called "a miracle" by one of the members of abba after he saw her. and yes, that she is. easily one of the best - if not the best - actress of her generation. and it's great to see her taking on such offbeat roles later in her career (like miranda in devil wears prada).

and the music of abba? say no more. this movie just proved that one small musical group from sweden was able to produce music to soundtrack a life.

totally, totally satisfying movie experience.

if you haven't seen it. sheesh. go, go, GO!

you know how it is with every generation of teenagers - there's always this rumor that some pop icon is dead.

for those of you who were adolescents in the 80s, you might remember that in our case, the rumor was that tony hadley, lead singer of spandau ballet was dead.

even if i was more of a duran duran fan, i was very distressed at that news. but now...

not only am i sure that tony hadley is alive, he's actually here in manila for a concert at the araneta coliseum. isn't that the darnedest thing?

all over abs-cbn i see him - going from show to show singing 'gold.' now that's a major blast from the past if ever there was one.

unfortunately, 22 years later after the height of my spandau ballet fandom, the magic isn't there anymore. and, well, tony, good to know you're alive, but i think i'll pass on the concert.

came from a 4-day stay in davao and my first thought is: i won't be eating grilled chicken for quite some time.

i do like the stuff - and had a lot of it in davao where it comes cheap and plentiful. but after around 5 grilled chicken meals, i'm good if you're into grilled chicken/ chicken barbecue, you have to (as in HAVE TO) eat at colasa's. there were 2 of us and we had two thigh and legs, 2 sticks of liver, 1 pork chop, and 2 cups of rice for P220 (less than US$ 5).

and then there's the tuna. name the part of the fish and it's been put to good use. one of the more popular parts is panga, or the jaw. in restaurants you can get that grilled for anywhere from P150-P1,000. but from the specialty seafood stores it goes for around P110 a kilo.

and of course the fruit. it was pomelo season when i was there and a kilo cost P40. i'm sure i could have haggled more but hey, P40 was pretty good. but not as good as the pomelo which was the juiciest and sweetest i have ever tried. tip: buy from the market. the fruits stands along the roads are too expensive. the pomelo season was in such good shape, the seller even gave me 2 whole ones as a bonus

i didn't do the beach - not willing to spend that much on a beach trip during the rainy season. but we did do the croc farm and that was fun! crocodiles are, to my mind now, some of the most fascinating animals out there. just look at them...

i'm sure there was much, much more to davao that what i got to experience. but being a foodie, i had a great time

While driving to makati, i saw along EDSA a goldilocks billboard that had their latest offerings of different Filipino soups. In the list was sinigang na corned beef.

What the...? Vicka, ikaw may pa-uso nyan ano? hahahaha!

But anyway, now i'm beginning to wonder what it would taste like. maybe when i'm really really hungry and it's cold and raining and goldilocks is near me and the only thing they have is sinigang na corned beef. maybe i'll give it a try. maybe.