Why I will never be Kris Aquino, a snapshot of homelife featuring a rebuke from my sister repeated here verbatim:

In the kitchen a few minutes ago, as my older sister and I were discussing the progress of our home renovation, I made a careless remark in the form of a rather crude joke. My sister paused from peeling a potato, looked me in the eye, and said, “You are closer to forty than thirty, Butch. You must develop some gravity.”

Art in the Park 2013

Last Saturday I went with Jessel Duque, one of my dearest writer friends, to Art in the Park, the annual flea market for Philippine visual arts held at Jaime Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village, Makati City. Lots of people go to the fair to buy art on the cheap. If you have a bit of extra cash and a good eye, you can actually end up with amazing steals. But even if you’re not the kind who buys art, it’s still a great event to check out. There are lots of things to see, touch, hear, smell, and taste, and you are bound to bump into someone you know (or someone you wish you knew. Eye candy galore!).

Well, I came away with two really lovely things from Art in the Park this year. First is a spiky black and white book bag from 98B COLLABoratory, which I loved so much that I had to use it right away. The name of the artist who makes the bags escapes me now, but I wanted to have one of my own the first time I saw its spiky quirkiness.  Visual artist Mimi Tecson was using one when we both attended an exhibit opening at Art Informal in San Juan early last year, and it was through her that I learned who the maker was. Second is the memory of a fat cat resting on a pedestal. She was blissfully unaware of the spotlights and the many people who were taking pictures of her ignoring the sculpture whose platform she had decided to claim for her own. Jessel took pictures of her, and I’m posting a couple here.

If you want to read more about the galleries and organizations that took part in Art in the Park, read this.

Jessel blogs at kantogirlblues.blogspot.com

I just love this cat. Photo by Jessel Duque.

A closer look at the cat. Photo by Jessel Duque.

National Breakfast Day 2013 for this Ovo-Lacto Vegetarian

I learned about National Breakfast Day through advertising collaterals like this. But don’t eat at McDonald’s. Eat at home. Cook your own breakfast. You’ll enjoy it more.

It’s National Breakfast Day tomorrow,March 18, 2013, and as a self-professed breakfast lover, I am all excited for it. To be honest, I only learned of National Breakfast Day a few days ago. Had I known of it sooner, I’d have prepared better for it. Anyhow, given my limited time and my crazy schedule, this is the food I’ll be preparing to celebrate National Breakfast Day. (And, yes, I think this celebration is a McDonald’s initiative. But breakfast at home is infinitely better, so sorry, McDonald’s. Haha.)

Garlic Egg Fried Rice with Peas, Carrots, Bell peppers and Vegan Ham.

1. Mince several cloves of garlic and a bit of onion, carrot, and bell pepper.
2. Chop vegan ham.
3. Saute onion and garlic. Add ham, carrots, and bell pepper and saute until fragrant.
4. Add cold cooked rice. Take care to press rice against your wok. Leave the rice as is until it starts to steam and you can hear it popping.
5. Mix the rice and vegetables until rice is sufficiently fried.
6. Add egg and mix thoroughly, so it coats each rice grain. Season with salt.
7. Serve with a sprinkling of chopped spring onions.

Vegan Tocino Strips

1. Hydrate TVP, squeeze out excess water.
2. Shred TVP and add tocino seasoning. Marinate overnight.
3. Fry marinated TVP until cooked and the marinade has caramelized.

Leek and Vegan Sausage Frittata

1. Slice vegan sausages diagonally. Do the same to the leeks.
2. Saute leeks until tender. Add sliced sausages and saute until they start to brown.
3. Beat eggs into a bowl and season with salt. Pour eggs into pan with leeks and sausage. Stir.
4. Cook until eggs have set.

Pan de sal and butter

1. Wake up early, and go to your friendly neighborhood bakery.
2. Buy freshly baked pan de sal and butter. The scent of freshly baked bread and the comforting warmth of the brown paper packages are more than enough compensation for the early morning errand.

Cheese

1. Go to the grocery and scour the dairy section.
2. Read, read, read. Make sure the cheese you’re buying is made with non-animal rennet. Australian cheeses are usually safe.
3. My two favorite brands (because they’re readily available and are quite good) are Tillamook and Melbourne.
4. Don’t be scared to try the different kinds of vegetarian cheese available. You will be surprised by the variety of tastes and textures,.

Strawberry jam

1. Go to Baguio City and look for the Good Shepherd Convent.
2. Buy strawberry jam. And get several jars of rhubarb jam if they have it because they very rarely do.
3. Go home to Quezon City.

Orange juice and coffee

1. Go to the grocery.
2. Buy juice and coffee.
3. Go home. Prepare as indicated.

Watermelon, Cantaloupe, and Banana Fruit Cup

1. Half the watermelon and cantaloupe. Use a melon baller to scoop the pulp into balls. Place in a salad bowl.
2. Peel bananas and slice into chunks as big as the melon balls. Add to salad bowl.
3. Splash orange juice into fruit mixture and place in the fridge.
4. Serve cool.

And because I think the point of National Breakfast Day is to share breakfast with your loved ones (aside from eating at McDonald’s. Haha.) My Ate and I will be packing all of these in a large picnic basket, so we can share breakfast with my other sister and her family who live in the next subdivision.

Happy National Breakfast Day in advance!

Two photos from the summer of 2008

Before I started working for Likhaan, I spent one summer working for the UP National Writers Workshop as a volunteer documentor. This was during the university’s centennial year. All I wanted really was a week’s vacation in Camp John Hay. I didn’t know that that week would change many things in my life–I got convinced to resign from the UP Press to become Butch Dalisay’s deputy director in Likhaan, I rediscovered my love for Baguio City, and I gained very good friends among the fellows.

Jun Lana, Me, and Ralph Galan in one of the fellow’s rooms. Photo by Nick Pichay.

From the many happy memories of that year’s workshop, I cherish most the nightly drinking sessions with Frank Cimatu and Jun Balde (Some nights Bobby Anonuevo would join us). These guys never got drunk. We would stop drinking at around 4 in the morning. I would go to my room to sleep for an hour before going to check on the breakfast spread. And every morning without fail, I was greeted by the tranquil tableau of Frank and Jun, both freshly bathed, quietly sipping coffee on the patio and discussing the finer points of golf as they watched the early morning players make their way through the golf course surrounding the lodge we were billeted in.

Vince Serrano, Nick Pichay, Me, Ian Casocot, Bobby Anonuevo, Alan Derain, Rica Bolipata Santos, and Charlson Ong during the short trek to the stream bisecting BenCab’s property. Except for me and Charlson who was teaching fellow, everyone else was a writing fellow. This was a particularly fabulous batch. Photo by Jun Lana.

Now if the straight boys were a lot of fun, so were the gays. And they took really lovely pictures. The two photos in this post were taken by the two Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Hall of Famers among the writing fellows, Nick Pichay and Jun Lana.

A photo from the 2010 UP National Writers Workshop

National Artist Rio Alma (Virgilio Almario) viewing the wooden rice god collection on display at National Artist BenCab’s (Benedicto Cabrera) eponymous museum in Baguio.

It’s a few weeks before the 52nd University of  the Philippines  National Writers Workshop, and we have entered the homestretch of preparations. I’ve been organizing the annual workshop for Likhaan: University of the Philippines Institute of Creative Writing for several years now, and each year brings with it many interesting stories, new friends, and lots and lots of photo ops.

And every year, at around this time, I start getting nostalgic for past workshops, so I’ve decided to look at my archives and post some of my favorite photos through the years.

I took the photo in this post at BenCab Museum. National Artist for the Visual Arts Benedicto Cabrera is a long-time friend of the workshop, and a visit to his museum for afternoon merienda has become a standard side activity for our teaching and writing panels. This photo was taken in 2010, the same year the renowned poet and National Artist for Literature Rio Alma started wearing fedoras. I followed him as he wandered around the display of wooden rice gods and snapped this picture as he paused to study one statue. I like the idea of two gods standing face to face, one literary and one agricultural. And the way the rice god seems to be sprouting from his head is practically, well, poetic.

Rio Alma is a fellow emeritus of the Likhaan and a regular member of the workshop’s teaching panel.