Dreamwalker

It was not too long ago when I first saw a photo of mouthwatering Philippine Wagyu Corned Beef by French-trained American chef Jeremy Slagle, who is better known online as Mr. Delicious. Needless to say, it was love at first read. And then sight. For a person who is a sucker for corned beef (not Argentina, sorry), I was enthralled by the thought high quality meat being used for one of my favourite brunch items. As luck would have it, I was invited to an event by a friend at Homegrown , where Mr. Delicious himself was serving up samples of the beef! Even better, he had a couple half-kilo packs of the corned beef with him, so I walked out gingerly holding this box in my hands. Under pouring rain. Oh yeah, there was a typhoon that night, and of course, I just had to be out.

I like trilogies better than epic tales that span five books or more. I say this now a couple of hours after finishing the Mistress of the Empire, the third book in the Empire Trilogy by Feist and Wurts. These names have been recommended by trusted people many years past, but it was only recently that I found the time and inclination to pick the first book up. And as it often happens to me, I found myself steeped in the plot almost from the get go. While I did have to stop reading when I fell asleep at night - still holding the iPhone - the story and characters would permeate my thoughts every day. (Believe it or not, in the couple of weeks that I spent with the Acoma, I felt the urge to redecorate Tsuranni-style and look up  seat cushion specials . The writing did paint very graphic images in my head - from gory to homey!)

I was almost raving about AK Bistro at One Rockwell the other day, and based on my experience at that point, it was all justified. I think I have to temper my enthusiasm a tad, though. Yesterday was a great day, and there was more than enough cause to celebrate. Since we were in the area anyway, AK Bistro was where we headed for dinner. Now, I am a callos enthusiast, and so far, the best callos I have had is from Cucina Victoria, which is at PowerPlant Mall. Anyhow, the two dishes last night were simply "okay". And with the prices, I have to rethink going to AK Bistro regularly. Once or twice a month maybe, but definitely not weekly.

Recently, I was made aware that I have been on a spending mode. For someone who is usually thrifty, I do get those periods when I throw caution to the wind and burn cash like there were no tomorrow. And when it happens, I do tend to get carried away. I honestly was not aware of that, until I glanced at my bank account last night. Yup, even though the sight of this blazingly beautiful red epiphone es 335 pro at guitar center made my blood quicken, there is no way in hell I can afford to stay in my spending rut.

Several months ago, I found myself having brunch with friends at this newly opened place in One Rockwell. Seeing that my brain was half dead from lack of sleep and a tad too much wine, it is a wonder that I remember that brunch at all. Having a live long and prosper moment, courtesy of a nice slice of apple pie I think, though, that it goes to show just how impressed I was with the food at that place - AK Bistro. Now that I think back, I am pretty sure we were supposed to go to another place, but it was full. So we just went into the first empty place we ran across, and it was great. Serendipity at its finest.

People who know me will say that I am very much a creature of habit, and I will be the first to agree. Still, I have my "adventurous" moments. Oftentimes, the results are awesome with no negative side effects. There are times when I do have to face some consequences. And then there are the times when I can't tell. At the beginning of this weekend, though, I had one of those "deviate from habit" moments, and I jumped into the water...and that piece of plastic got whipped out again. I could have done a lot worse, if you think about it. I could have bought something as awesome as  floor fountains ...awesome they would be, except that I don't even have enough room to get dressed without tripping all over myself and my stuff in the bedroom. Or, I could have bought a car that sounds and looks good, only to crash it parking. Yeah, I could have done worse. The best Apple Pie in the city and a cup of brewed Illy at midnight is not at all bad.