The Avengers is definitely one of the most highly anticipated movies for 2012. If you’re a fan or at least an avid movie-goer, you would know that the buildup of this movie started all the way back to the first Iron Man movie. And now, it’s here! After watching it last night, all I could say is that all those years was definitely worth the wait!

Avengers!

Right now, it’s the perfect superhero movie for me. The movie is just THAT awesome. There are a lot of reasons why, and here’s mine.

Balance. The movie was able to balance the presence of the four alpha-superheroes AND give enough screen time for the supporting characters. With Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Hulk already dominating the screen, Joss Whedon could have easily set aside any character development for the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avengers team. Surprisingly, the movie was able to show enough scenes for these supporting characters to actually flesh out. I didn’t feel like I was cheated out of a character, who I expected to play a major role in the film because they were in the poster, only to find that they had just one line and one scene in the movie. The way they presented these supporting characters – from their background to motivations – was really impressive.

For example, if this was just another superhero movie, Hawkeye would just be a background badass hero Legolas-ing his way during the fight scenes. Fortunately, he’s in this movie; we got enough hints of his background to understand why he’s there. And this is coming from someone with minimal knowledge of the Marvel Universe (aside from the ones shown in film or TV shows).

Kick-ass women. (Well, fine, woman) For once, I finally saw a super hero movie where the female superhero actually kicked-ass. I was initially peeved that this already testosterone heavy movie only had one room for a female Avenger. (I mean, come on, there are female superheroes too!) But after watching the movie, I have to give ScarJo’s Black Widow the credit. She held her own despite being the only female in a group of alpha-males. I was glad that they didn’t gave her any scenes where she becomes the hero-turned-damsel-in-distress. They didn’t even use her seductress persona that much. My only critic is that they could have given her a bigger gun. All in all, I’m really happy with how this one female hero turned out. (This makes me officially a fan of Joss Whedon).

Action-packed with coherent narrative. With action films, there is always the danger of totally ignoring any semblance of a story line and just throw all the fights, and explosions scenes together*coughTransformerscough*. I’m glad that wasn’t the case for Avengers. Yeah, they had the whole Marvel Universe for source material, but it still does take skill to translate the story in a 2-hour film. And again, coming from someone with little knowledge of the Marvel Universe, I understood the whole story, and the motivations of each character. I didn’t come out of the movie theater bombarding my boyfriend with questions about why this character is like this and that, etcetera.

Memorable lines. I guarantee that after watching this film, you’re head will be brimming with funny lines from the movie. Hulk, SMASH and Puny god are internet memes waiting to happen (or already did).

Right after the movie, my boyfriend and I were on an Avengers-high that we stopped by the nearest Petron station and got their limited edition Avengers tumbler collection. Yeah, that’s how good the movie is; it makes you want to get any Avengers-related collectibles. I predict I’ll be watching it again this week.

My babies

It was one of our out of the blue moments. While slowly cruising along with the usual rush hour traffic, we suddenly got the idea to celebrate the eve of the 19th instead. Usually, we celebrate the 19th on the day itself, but since we were already near one of Ayo’s recommended must-try restaurants, we decided to eat there. And, that my friends, was one of the best decisions we’ve made for that day. Haha!

Cafe Juanita, Kapitolyo Branch

In just a few minutes, we found ourselves in front of Cafe Juanita looking for a parking space. Luckily, it was a weekday and the place was not full.

Since my boyfriend dined here before and already knew what’s good, I trusted him with our order.

Crispy Phai Phai

For our appetizer, we got the Crispy Phai Phai. It turned out to be several pieces of crispy fried dried fish shaped like a fan, “pamaypay” in Tagalog. I had a brief “AHH” moment there. (For those who don’t get it: The act of using the ‘pamaypay’ is ‘paypay’. Paypay. “Phai Phai”.)

I hungrily nibbled on the Crispy Phai Phai. They were delicious enough but certainly not filling. By this time, I was already excited for the main course – Kare Kare ni Juanita.

My boyfriend really built up my expectations for this kare-kare. He had nothing to say but positive raves about this dish. “It’s the best kare-kare you’ll ever taste!” he said. (For those who don’t know: Kare-kare is a Filipino dish, which is made from ox-tail and tripes stewed in peanuts & toasted rice with vegetables. It really should challenge Adobo’s popularity).

THE Kare-Kare ni Juanita

When Kare-Kare ni Juanita was delivered to our table, I immediately tasted it. And he was right. It was definitely delicious. Out of all the kare-kares I’ve tasted, this one is the best so far. YUMMY! Everything was mixed well, and not one flavor was over powering the others. It’s really just delicious. *Speechless* Haha!

I wasn’t really thinking of dessert after that yummy meal but Ayo also said that they have this delicious pudding. Meet the Sticky Toffee Pudding. *drools*

Sticky Toffee Pudding

This pudding with their Kahlua Corretto equals one happy girl.

Aside from their delicious food offerings, the ambiance of the place is really exquisite. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take any photos of the restaurant interiors. If you’re curious what the place looks like, you can head over to Our Awesome Planet’s feature on Cafe Juanita for more pictures.

Happy customers

Overall, this is a restaurant I’ll definitely go back to for the food and ambiance.

Cafe Juanita
No.2 United Street corner West Capitol Street, Brgy Kapitolyo, Pasig. For reservations: 02-632-0357.

Once again, I’m a year older. It seems like yesterday that I was all giddy and excited to celebrate my birthdays. These days, I’m more about being stubbornly anxious to cling on my yesterday’s age. But hey, time is time and life is life; we all eventually need to move on and grow up. As I enter and trudge on another year in my life, I just have to admit that my life isn’t too bad, and that there are so many things to be thankful for.

… for the loving boyfriend that perfectly became the yang to my yin
… for the wonderful family that has continuously supported and grounded me
… for the PG gang that have stuck with me for 10++ years, and understand why I am
… for the delicate Flowers that accepted the B and tapped into my nicer alter ego
… for the demonyitas and bond-mates that brought spontaneity in my life
… for the teachers and professors that taught me the concepts and rules of the world
… for the old friends that made my past a colorful collection of nostalgic memories
… for the new friends that make my present full of unexpected adventures
… for the job that funds my various needs and wants
… for the past and present workmates that made my corporate life an interesting one
… for the coaches, and trainers that provided health and fitness knowledge and tips
… for the conversations, and debates that opened my mind to new perspectives
… for the coffee and chocolates that kept me alive and alert
… for the ability to think of happy thoughts that balances my realistic pessimistic self.
… for the travel adventures that have made an ultimate mark on my life
… for the comfort zone that provided a familiar haven in the midst of chaos
… for the mistakes and conflicts that taught me resilience, and made me stronger
… for the social networks that connected me with family & friends anytime, anywhere.
… for the brutally honest people that keep me grounded and self-aware
… for the awkward moments that will be forever part of my amusing experiences.
… for the pain that reminds me I’m human
… for the books, movies and TV shows that entertained my imagination
… for the empowered females that continue to inspire me
… for the comfortable soft bed and pillows that enabled me to dream the sweetest dreams
… for the dreams that keep me hopeful and motivated
… for the luck that hopefully comes my way

Thank you!

This is for you. Thank you! My 26 years of existence have been interestingly beautiful because of you.

Of all the fitness craze that hit Manila, running was one of things I never really got interested in. I never liked running as a hobby or sport-workout. I’ve tried, and it bored me. HAHA! I guess the lack of motivation stems from my lack of intense purpose to run. So when I heard about this crazy zombie-themed fun run, it immediately caught my attention. It’s really different from all the marathon runs that have been organized here. There’s nothing like having the ultimate reason to run and run and run – for your life.

I had to be crazy to sign up for this, but I really wanted to know if I’ll survive a 5k run. There’s nothing like a horde of scary zombies to motivate me.

Outbreak Manila!

On the day of the Outbreak, my friends and I found ourselves running late for our scheduled wave. Good thing that the organizers prepared for this, and allowed several late comers to join the next wave.

The Briefing!

And so we joined wave 6. Once we got our health flags and bibs, we immediately headed to the briefing station. Here, we were given the set of rules, guidelines and tips on how to survive the outbreak. Then, off to the starting point.

Starting Point: Pretending to be part of this wave. Haha! I was actually done already.

Looking at the group, I was half fearful that I might get hurt, or might unintentionally hurt someone, and half hopeful that the chances of losing health flags are slim. I mean, at some point all of us were bound to be intensely getting away from zombies, and with a group of people, you have a higher chance to get away, but at the same time, a higher chance of unintentionally shoving people or getting shoved yourself.

Spot the walker!

And so the run begins!

Patintero with the zombies

Once you enter the ‘wilderness’, the wave group begins to separate – the runners, continue to run, while the majority trudges behind.

Unfortunately, I was afraid to bring my camera with me, and thus, no pictures of how it was ‘inside’ the race. There were obstacles and lots of zombie surprise and chasing moments.

Oh no!

Props to the zombies for their terrifying costumes and their commitment to the zombie act. It was a hell lot of challenge trying to avoid them while ensuring that I still have my health flags.

Watch out for her and run fast! This walker can run fast!

I ran practically half the race with all my flags intact, until I got to the second half. One by one, I lost my health flags to the zombies chasing me. Ten meters away from the finish line, I had only one flag. I thought I was going to make it, until I got caught in a game of ‘patintero’ with 2 aggressive zombies. Argh! So much for coming out of this alive huh. Haha!

with Zombified MJ

All in all, my friends and I had fun [well, except that my friend got a minor sprain ]. Until the next ‘Outbreak!’

At first glance, BLT Burger looks nothing like the typical burger places we have here in Manila. It looks a little fancier, and more at par with TGIF’s in terms of ambiance and price range. It can look quite intimidating if you’re used to a typical relaxed burger joint. But if you’re looking for a tastily delicious burger, then you won’t regret going here.

As I’ve said in my previous post, we chanced upon BLT Burger when we were so hungrily looking for a place to eat dinner at Harbor City mall. And we’re glad that we did.

BLT Burger Menu

Once you’re seated, you’ll be automatically welcomed by this menu-slash-placemat. Be careful when you’re hungry, you might end up ordering everything!

The Classic Burger, Fries, Soda Combo

Classic Burger, Fries, Soda Combo – 138 HKD. When my friend of mine took a bite from this burger he said: “If I didn’t propose to you, I would’ve proposed to this burger”. LOL

The Buffalo Chicken Burger

Buffalo Chicken – 88 HKD. My initial choice, but I’m not really a burger-eating person and I doubt I would’ve finished this. According to my friend, this one was really delicious.

The Australian Wagyu Burger, Fries, Soda Combo

Australian Wagyu Burger, Fries, Soda Combo – 178 HKD. My boyfriend ordered this one based from the recommendation of BLT Burger’s waiter. Based from how he silently reflective he ate this one, I can pretty much say he loved his order. I was lucky enough to take a small bite from this one, and I definitely agreed the burger was worth all the raves.

Chicken Wings (Spicy Buffalo)

Chicken Wings (Spicy Buffalo) – 8pcs/68 HKD. My order. Like I’ve said, I’m not really a burger-eating person. I ordered these instead. Overall, I was pretty satisfied with it.

happy with our food!

All in all, we’re really happy with BLT Burger. If given the chance to dine here again, I’ll definitely order one whole burger and see if I could finish it.