Happy Christmas!

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around.”
- Love Actually

ALWAYS relevant.

Happy Christmas, everyone! Preparing a longer post for the blog so sit tight. I just posted because how could I not wish all of you happiness on my favorite holiday?

Food, laughter and love,

Essa.

Still Alive

Sorry for neglecting the blog! I'm a horrible, horrible blogger. Seriously. My sister, niece and brother-in-law flew in from Singapore for the Holidays and I've just been so wrapped up in catching up and spending as much time with them as possible so I haven't had the chance to just sit down and update you on the going ons. However, the end of the month (and year!) approaches so you can expect a photodump from me soon enough. Fear not, I'm sure it'll be a long one. My days have been spent in busy movement and I've managed to document most, if not all, of the slightly big things that need to be remembered and shared.

For now, I'm just here to let you know that I am alive and well (mostly well, a flu virus is making its rounds through the Pamandanan household). And also, I've already started my Christmas Movie Playlist and I'm currently watching...



Nancy Meyers is a genius and I always love her films!

Wishing you all a jolly december!

Happy Holidays,
Essa

P.S. I'm getting tons of anonymous questions at my formspring. They're delightful and amusing! Keep 'em coming. I feel like a celebrity. Hahaha!

The Perfect Crime

"What is my perfect crime? I break into Tiffany's at midnight. Do I go for the vault? No. I go for the chandelier; it's priceless. As I'm taking it down, a woman catches me. She tells me to stop. It's her father's business. She's Tiffany. I say no. We make love all night. In the morning the cops come and I escape in one of their uniforms. I tell her to meet me in Mexico but I go to Canada. I don't trust her. Besides, I love the cold. Thirty years later I get a postcard. I have a son. And he's the Chief of Police. This is where the story gets interesting: I tell Tiffany to meet me in Paris by the Trocadero. She's been waiting for me all these years. She's never taken another lover. I don't care. I don't show up. I go to Berlin. That's where I stashed the chandelier."

-- Dwight Schrute, The Office.

Maggie and Victor

Maggie and Victor from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

My sisters and I saw this video awhile back, but I wasn't sure on whether I wanted to share and comment on it or not. Since it's making its rounds on my facebook, I decided to voice out my thoughts, whether it is wanted or not.

Friends have been posting comments such as "That is so sexxxxyyyyy" or "YES. HELL YES," and it's really been bothering me. I'm not sure if I just happen to be a prude, but here's my two pence.

This video is offensive to the extreme. It is crass, tawdry, and tasteless. It is inappropriate. Imagine having everyone who attends your wedding witness you dry hump and pelvic thrust each other. Imagine having your father-in-law-to-be, grandfather-in-law-to-be, cousins-in-law-to-be, and brothers-in-law-to-be develop a hard on while watching this video of you in your skivvies practically screwing your groom. Imagine having your grandparents, parents, siblings, and cousins witness you practically naked gyrating in the bed. I wonder what these two'll do for their honeymoon!

Are my sisters and I alone in thinking this?!

Baffled,
Essa.

Christmas Countdown: 21 days to go

21 days to go!

Photodump: November

Christmas is just around the corner! November was as jolly as dear old St. Nick and glee ran rampant as I spent this lovely month with my awesome friends and much more awesome family. We also started preparations for the arrival of my sister, brother-in-law and niece, who are arriving on the first week of December for a month long stay from the land of the merlion.













My mother (twitter) celebrates her birthday on the 8th of November and we usually start decorating our humble abode for the holidays the following day. We start off with the tree and ornaments, then we deck the halls (or in our case, staircase) with holly, the doors with wreaths, the railings with stockings, and scatter candles and bells all over the household. For my mom's "ehem"th birthday, we ate at one of our favorite restaurants, Eat Well, then headed off to have a dose of our daily grind. It is no secret that we Pamandanans are addicted to our coffee.

My godson Marcus celebrated his 1st birthday! It was definitely an affair to remember. Props to his parents, my good friends, Mykee & Kyra. The party was a blast. (:













As per the recommendation of our sister, ate Jill (twitter|tumblr), Drei, ate Iyay (twitter|tumblr) and I decided to try out the House of Lasagna over at Wilson. Can I just say? The place blew me away! Tucked in a little nook in a small building, House of Lasagna was a quaint little date place that is perfect for a romantic yet affordable night out. We ordered 2 plates of the beef lasagna, a plate of fried, crispy, chicken skin and an extra basket of garlic bread and boy were we glad we didn't order our desserts immediately! We were stuffed. We couldn't get out of our chairs. Its European interior is brightly lit yet still gives the air of romance. It is my current fixation.



















Who can forget that November 2010 marked the Beginning of the End for the beloved Harry Potter saga?! I first watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Review here) with my siblings opening day, then I watched again 2 days after at a special screening hosted by the men of the Aquila Legis fraternity of the Ateneo Law School. Criela (twitter|tumblr) and I have a couple of friends and acquaintances who are part of the fraternity, so we decided to show our support (Plus, we're major Potterheads). Before heading to the after party, my lady and I took our sweet time and had dinner at Carlos' Pizza. Forgive the awful photos, we were so hungry we just couldn't be bothered to remember to take photos before digging in. We followed to Cafe Mondial, the venue of the after party, shortly once we've finished eating, mingled, then decided we wanted some Micket D's. We abused the kindness of our good friend Eric and bullied him into taking us so we wouldn't have to bring our own ride.




I accompanied Criela (twitter|tumblr) to the Moonlit Bazaar over at Rockwell with no plans whatsoever to purchase anything for myself, but once I paid the entrance fee, I decided to check off what was left of my Christmas list. No way would I have paid to just walk around lusting after item after item after item. We ended up getting more than we thought we would, but the prices were surprisingly low so we both left very happy. I then got bullied by the brat into buying myself a drink and a cinnamon roll at Starbucks, Home Depot where I helped digest a few cases for the little minx.





My good friend Kalvin visited me at home towards the end of the month and we decided on pigging out while having a movie marathon. We ordered Spaghetti w/ Meatballs and Buffalo Wings from Yellow Cab then promptly started watching Easy A as we patiently waited for the food to arrive. Next up on our list were episodes 4 and 5 of The Walking Dead, followed immediately by the gory Battle Royale.



Somewhere around the last week of November, I filmed a hilarious indie skit for Jack TV. I'll keep you guys updated on when it airs!

That's it for my November! Hope everyone is enjoying their lives as much as I am enjoying mine.

All good things,
Essa.