How to Celebrate New Year's Eve the Filipino Way (re-post)

I saw this article How to Celebrate New Year's Eve the Filipino Way on eHow.com. It was funny, I don't know when this article was written or who wrote it. I laughed out loud when i came to steps 4 and 5 -- Step 4 - Serve sweet rice and ginger tea after the countdown; Step 5 - On New Year's Day, roast a pig over hot coals and serve with any number of Filipino dishes such as pansit, lumpia and adobo.

No one serves sweet rice and ginger tea anymore. If there are, just a few probably. What we usually serve on New Year's eve are hot chocolate, sliced bread, spaghetti (the sweet kind with sliced hotdogs and ground pork, topped with cheddar cheese), hotdog on sticks, pork or chicken barbecue, and round fruits like grapes, ponkan (mandarin oranges), and fuji apples (as they symbolize money according to belief).

And Filipinos can't afford to roast pigs anymore. Usually its the usual pansit, lumpiang shanghai, menudo, afritada, more pork or chicken barbecue, and whatever food was left from the night before. No one serves adobo on New Year's day. Adobo is not considered a 'fiesta' dish, probably because of its color.

And to this list, I want to add Step 6 - Bring out the karaoke or videoke machine, bottles of San Miguel/Red Horse beer (or Ginebra for the kanto boys... or Fundador for the more opulent magkukumpares) with matching spicy pulutan (or whatever's on the table). After a few bottles, expect to hear the tomadors belting out Englebert Humperdink or Frank Sinatra hits till the wee hours of January 2.

This is the traditional Filipino New Year.

Note for the re-post: Tell me how do you celebrate New Year's eve/day?

America's Victory

My partner and I closely monitored the results of the elections in the US. Since we don't have a cable connection, we just satisfied ourselves looking at various websites as they revealed the numbers, from time to time watching CNN live reports online. This is the first time that I've witnessed such moving event in American politics.

The moment Obama's number went up to 200, we already know. And we felt so moved. For this is not just a victory to be celebrated by Americans but by the whole world.

I know that millions of blog entries will be written expressing their joy as to how Obama made history. I do not wish to go in that direction.

What saddens me is the fact that Filipinos don't care. What's with the apathy? Are we in such hopeless shambles that we can't feel anything anymore? This is a historic event. This is the American Dream realized. Yet, we're indifferent.

Because for Filipinos, this changes nothing. In two months' time, America will be governed by its first black American President, a symbol of hope, a complete turn around from what Bush represents. Back home, politicians continue to preen on TV gathering pogi points and belting out Frank Sinatra on game shows.

The Cheaper Pringles Tastes Like UGH! Yuck!

Have you seen the new Pringles in the supermarket? It’s cheaper and the can is smaller because it contains less chips, 120g to be exact compared to the old Pringles which is 163g.

This new Pringles is being produced and packed in a factory in Johor, Malaysia and it tastes like sh*t compared to the Pringles made in the USA. It has lost its taste. I like the American-made Pringles, because it’s thin and crunchy. The Malaysian version is thicker and mealy and it tastes like flour (like the Mr. Potato brand). I had 3 chips and I didn’t touch the damn thing again.

Apparently, Procter & Gamble officially entered the Malaysia market via the acquisition of Richardson Vicks. So expect cheaper but low-quality Olay, Rejoice, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, even Downy and Pampers products in the market soon.

Supermarkets are currently replacing their stocks of American Pringles with the yucky Malaysian ones. I suggest you don’t buy them. They’re not cheap. It seems like it, but you’re actually paying for lesser weight, lesser flavor, and low-grade potato chips. The American Pringles is more expensive by 18pesos. BUT they taste better. I’d rather pay extra 18pesos and enjoy my Pringles than pay for garbage.

Calling Procter and Gamble Philippines, please stop importing the Malaysian Pringles, we hate it.

(This article is by Oliver Twist of 96.7 K-Lite FM Baguio)

The Worst Last Minute Christmas Gifts

It's always a stressful time hunting for Christmas gifts to give to friends and co-workers. Yeah, everyone wants to give cool gifts, but most of the time we're a little strapped for cash. And you know how malls are packed with people - crazy, hot-headed people, that is... Add to that the pressure of getting a gift that will make its recepient say "Wow! What a great present!" Even if we don't have the time to shop or we don't have enough money for that "WOW!" gift we can still find good bargains around.

But please, AVOID giving the following gifts for Christmas:

1. Scented candles - Unless your friend is a new age junkie and digs weird wicca stuff, scented candles are way UN-cool!
2. Bars of soap - we're not elementary students anymore doing the "exchange gift".
3. Exercise Videos or Diet Books - even if the package is cute and you mean well, it is impossible to give a gift of this kind without offending the receiver.
4. Ceramic Figurine - see #2
5. Face Towel - see #2
6. Cartoon Character Ties - what are you stuck in the 90s? Whoever still wears cartoon character ties should be shot... on the spot!
7. Photo Album - this is probably the worst of all... and that includes a photo frame. Burn whoever gives you a lousy photo album (or photo frame) this Christmas.
8. Socks - most people are happy to buy their own socks and would rather do so than receive them as a present.
9. Punch Bowl - who would use a punch bowl these days?
10. Ugly hand bags - why are they even made in the first place?

They all say, it's not about the gift, it's the thought that counts, right? WRONG! If you're giving horrible, tacky, and tasteless gifts for Christmas, that equates to THOUGHTLESSNESS on your part.