The 115th Philippine Independence Day Celebration... Are We Really Free?

115th? Really? Hahaha. No, I do not want to start a debate on the topic of June 12th being the Philippine's Independence Day... I would let it pass for now and just make a post about it next year perhaps.. Haha. What I want to ask now is, are we really free?

My answer to that is just simple. As a nation, yes, the Philippines is free. But are the people free?

The concept of freedom is relative. Most of you would think you are free because of your own definition of freedom. You might argue that you can freely express yourselves and say that the President is stupid and get away with it or that you voted for your leaders who are Filipinos and not of foreign blood but does that make you free? Well, they say the proof is in the pudding but for me, I think not all Filipinos are free.

Why? Lets start with this. Are all Filipinos enjoying their political rights and civil liberties? Are Filipinos free from being controlled by religion? Oh.. Your answer is already a big NO? Game Over... Hahaha. So what is my concept of being free then?

The Filipinos can only be called free, when one is not denied justice. When our courts stop to be just for those who has money. If you think this is not true, you have to wake up!

We can only be free, when the so called economic growth we are experiencing can already be felt by the poor. As long as we do not contribute in any way to alleviate poverty, we will always be slaves. Yes, I used the term "we" and by that including you! We cannot just put this burden to our government. We should practice social responsibility and be part of the solution.

We can only be free, when Filipinos wakes up from their ignorance and stupidity! By this, I am not only referring to lack of education, but also to the apathy of a lot of Filipinos to the real problems of our society.

We can only be free when we eliminate corruption! The biggest hindrance of all to our journey to true freedom is corruption! As long as we allow ourselves to be ruled by corrupt officials, we can never be free. I must admit that even reducing corruption almost seems impossible. Corruption starts inside the families of every Filipino. Think about it. Think hard...

I could write till I am blue in the face but I would just be reaching about .1 percent of the population. Even if this is an impossible feat, I still believe we can do it. I am a dreamer... I believe that somehow, if some people would be able to get my ideas, they too can share it to a few others who can share it to maybe your friends or better yet you parents. hahaha.

I always dream of a Philippines where people are not forced to leave the country because they couldn't find opportunities here... of a Philippines where people are not hungry, of a Philippines where people do not just try to impress foreigners in order to be called beautiful... of a Philippines where people are not afraid to express themselves, of a Philippines who does not rely on foreign help to defend its land, of a Philippines where people do not consider themselves as an inferior race, of a Philippines where there is justice, of a Philippines where people are educated, of a Philippines where people care...

Going back to my original question... Are we really free??? I AM! I want you to be too...

Vanilla Cupcake Bakery: A Cupcake Wonderland Or Just Another Hype?

It has been 9 days since my last post. Time really flies. I can't believe classes already started and traffic in the Metro just got worst again.

In the 9 days that passed, there were a lot of issues that I was thinking of writing about but decided not to. Why? Because I didn't have anything positive to say. It would just be another rant that only my closest friends would care to read and talk about the next time we meet and commit the greatest lie we make these days. What lie am I talking about? Its the "Just 2 bottles" or "2 bottles only" lies. Hehe. Anyway, I decided to do away with writing about my biased opinions on current events and write about the most manly topic I could think of.... Cupcakes!

What the fuck do I know about cupcakes? If you would see me in person, you wouldn't expect me to be the cupcake lover type but I tell you, I know good cupcakes and I bake damn better than a lot of women, my girlfriend included. Hahaha.

I wanted to make a new blog to write about food but I am too lazy to do that so I'll just put it here as well. Since there aren't a lot of posts yet, I'll work on the categories later but I doubt I would have the drive to do that. Maybe after about 6 months or a year. Hehe.

So here it goes... My girlfriend and I went to Glorietta  last Wednesday to watch "The Fast and the Furious 6". Yeah I know, I watched the movie later than everybody else. Our first attempt just ended in a fancy dinner because the seats we wanted were already taken. Urg! Extra expense for me again but well worth it because It was another bonding moment for us amidst the busy schedule we both have. We met at about 7pm and the last full show was at 9:25PM so we had time to have a quick dinner. We decided to eat at Yoshinoya, I made a mistake of ordering the Power Meal which was a beef with vegetable bowl. We all know that Yoshinoya's beef bowl is the best but the vegetable in the Power Meal was simply the worst chopsuey ripoff I ever tasted. I had to order another Gyudon bowl because of that. Yeah I know I am going off topic but I didn't want to make a new post just for this. Hehe.

So after that, we decided to try the cupcakes at the Vanilla Cupcake Bakery. You would see some of the cupcake pictures below but I decided not to post the picture of the establishment itself because it kinda lures you inside. Hahaha. The place is doll house like... The kind any man would not dare step into if he is with another man or if he is alone. lol.

Red Velvet and Chocolate Decadent

I know I don't take good pictures. I simply point and click so please pardon me for the eyesores. Hehe. And no we didn't eat all of those cupcakes. My housemates loves "pasalubongs" so I always buy extra.

Cheesecake, Oreo Cheesecake, Chocolate Nutella

I didn't actually saw the Vanilla Cupcake Bakery by chance. My Facebook friends has been posting instagram pics of it since March claiming the cupcakes were sooooo gooood and that their red velvet was heavenly so I got interested to try it out myself.

Cheesecake

I am a red velvet cupcake lover so naturally, its the first one I looked for when we arrived. There was nothing on display so I asked the crew taking orders at the front (a girl who I think should be working at CDR-King instead, why? kasi malabo kausap!) if there are any red velvets coming. Here's what she did... She looked at the empty tray and said "ay sir wala na po". Being the hard headed person that I am, I asked another crew who was inside if they will refill the red velvet tray, she said it would be available in about 10 minutes. Thank God! We went to the cashier to place our orders there but the girl who was taking orders followed us. Hehe. When she asked what drinks I want, I asked what was available... I wasn't actually listening (I do not have any manners at all! blame it on my phone) but I heard her saying bottled iced tea so I asked "by bottled iced tea you mean Sola?" She said "yes sir bottled iced tea po" I smiled... See how nice I am? Then the girl at the counter interrupted and said "sir hindi po Sola" so I said I'll have that.

When we got in, my girlfriend saw the cute mixer on display and said she'd love to have one like that... I was really happy inside because I wouldn't have to think of a Christmas gift for her. Hehe. The furniture reminded me of Kamiseta, I know I saw those chairs somewhere but I am not 100% sure.

When our orders arrived, my bottled iced tea turned out to be Real Leaf from Coca Cola. It was not cold but I was given a paper cup with ice. The bottled water wasn't cold as well. I am not sure about you but I don't like putting ice on my drinks. Especially when I am not sure who supplies the ice. Call me "maarte" if you will but I think I am watching too much Imbestigador that I am a bit paranoid about the quality of everything! Hehe.

Now going to the finale... I first tasted the red velvet frosting.... It was good... I think its the pre made philly frosting... It really tasted familiar... Then the cupcake... It was to my disappointment, dry and crumbly... Far from the descriptions of my Facebook friends. Without the frosting, the cupcake is just ordinary. I mean, there I was in a place that was almost magical with my girl and my favorite cupcake flavor and then suddenly I woke up from that really nice dream.

I wanted to be back in dreamland so I quickly picked up the Nutella Chocolate. I couldn't taste a trace of Nutella in it at all. My girlfriend saw the disappointment on my face and smiled. That smile just takes away all those negative feelings... I did not lose hope, picked up the chocolate decadent and was surprised the cupcake tasted good but I couldn't finish it because the frosting was just too thick and was so sweet. We then just asked for the rest of the cupcakes to be boxed for takeaway. I asked one to be boxed separately. The packaging was cute. I now know why the cupcakes are expensive. The price of the box is already included in their cupcake pricing whether you have it there or to go... That is just my theory though. Hehe. Will I go back? I'll probably try another branch and their other cupcakes. Who knows, I might have a better experience. As for the red velvet, I would still go for my favorite House of Silvanas or J Cuppacakes. I think Vanilla Cupcake Bakery's price of php85 - 100 a cupcake is not reasonable if only for the ambiance their place has to offer... They seriously need to bake better tasting cupcakes to get clients to return.

Pnoy Arrives late at an appointment, blames traffic, reprimands MMDA chairman

photo grabbed from google

  

 Before anything else, my condolences goes to the bereaved family of the casualties in the Serendra 2  explosion in Taguig City. 

So the President is late once again. Pnoy was the guest of honor at the inauguration of the Advanced Device and Materials Testing Laboratory. He apologized at the start of his speech saying:

"Hihingi muna ako ng paumanhin sa inyo, na-late po tayo. Hindi inaasahan. Friday—ma-traffic. Hindi ko inaasahan, ma-traffic everywhere. Tinawagan ko na po si Chairman Tolentino na baka gusto niyang mag-traffic at mabawasan ang abala sa ating mga kabuhayan. Ngayon ko lang inakala na galing pong Malacañang kailangang dumaan ng Roxas Boulevard para umabot ng Taguig."

My first reaction of course was REAAALLLLYYYYYY???? You were surprised because of traffic on a FRIDAY? Are you really from the Philippines? Because what you experienced is what normal people without a convoy are experiencing every fucking day! Oooops. Sorry bout that. I will try to continue without profanities. I just can't believe this man! Calling MMDA Chairman Tolentino though (who is by the way out of the country) was a good idea. Why?..... Do you still remember Chairman Tolentino's letter to Dan Brown? Now I think its time for Chairman Tolentino to write an open letter to the President saying he is greatly disappointed by the Pnoy's inaccurate description of traffic in our beloved metropolis and that  he should've checked MMDA's website for alternate routes. Tolentino may add how displeased he is that the President suggested he himself act as a traffic enforcer. Hahaha. That would be epic!

But seriously, the President, being late again should be ashamed! He just signed a law setting Philippine Standard Time so as to change the connotation of "Filipino Time". I mean, everyone knows that driving from Malacañang to Taguig takes an hour and a half, that is if it is not rush hour. During rush hour it would be about 2-3 hours. Yes Mr. President. Welcome to the Philippines! The only time you can get there in 20 mins would be during a Pacquiao fight! So if you do not want to be late, leave early. Stop blaming traffic! 

Also, it might be a good idea to ask one of the employees of Malacañang to commute. That way you'd know what the common people or your "BOSSES" are experiencing everyday! You might be surprised by the things you'd discover about the Philippines. You might, just might, understand what the people needs.

Yeah! Its definitely More Fun in the Philippines!