Dreamwalker

Well not really. This is probably not the most accurate guide to coffee drinks you'll find, but it still is something to perk you up on a Monday. So what is your drink of choice? I normally go for an Americano, but a cappuccino or latte is just as welcome. Without a doubt, though, the Irish coffee icon is the best! Via

On the way home from the company team building last Sunday, we decided to drop by this popular cafe called Bag of Beans. Actually, everyone had heard of it except for me. I did not hesitate to go, though - how can you go wrong with a bag of beans? It turned out to be the right decision! The cafe was excellent and affordable. From the food to the outdoor furniture , everything was a welcome sight to my beer-buzzed self. That's us all aglow in anticipation of the food and coffee. I ordered a steak and kidney pie, which cost only PHP100. It was small, but it hit the spot. Noelle's dish, on the other hand, was enough to feed all of us! Ren's daing na bangus was not bad, but kinda small. Their mugs were wonderful! I wish I had a set. While downing all that food and the unlimited kape barako , it was nice to just sit back and look around. Here's the menu if you're interested. Bottom line: Bag of Beans is a must if you ever find yourself in Tagaytay. Coming from

Nope, that's not a typo. I've been battling a bug since the weekend, and a friend recommended high doses of Berocca to beat it. So off to Watsons I went to get myself some of this magic fizzy things. Yes, despite it being called a placebo by some people, I think it has been helping. I still need more energy, though, so I added more coffee to my diet. Berocca + coffee = becocca! Seriously, this is one of those diets that work . Long hours at the office plus after work activities tend to take their toll, and with a cough and a cold, it is not easy. I would endorse this combination to anyone who cannot afford to become bedridden because of the flu, though. It's been almost a week and I am still standing. ;)

I love Koryu ( my MSI Wind U100 ) and I really have no issues with her. In fact, when my friend Lenna asked for some info on what laptop to buy last week, I had no qualms about telling her to get the Wind. When I met up with her tonight, I was thrilled to see her new Wind - Koryu's white (literally) sister. I guess we made a funny sight at Starbucks...two women taking out their tiny netbooks from their bags...identical except for the color. Anyhow, she told me that she bought it with the standard 3-cell battery. However, MSI has a promo right now and she was able to exchange the 3-cell battery for a new 6-cell battery. Now why would I want that? Getting a 6-cell battery would almost double Koryu's weight. Then again, getting that battery would more than double the battery life! Right now, I can use Koryu for 1 hour and a half without having to plug her in. With the 6-cell battery, I can - supposedly - use her for 5 hours! That in itself is worth the extra pound, I t

No doubt some would find this funny and some might take offense. Me? I'm somewhere in the border. I couldn't help but think - for ads like these, do the people involved have to be informed? Do they get royalties? Does Barack Obama even care? And why do we make such ads? Why can't I just lighten up and laugh at this? :P [UPDATE] After watching it several times, I was laughing...

Our first impression of Subic?  Blah...   I guess we just heard so much hype about the place that we were expecting to be wowed.  We were more in awe of the excellent roads leading to it!  After we settled in for the day, however, the place kinda grew on us and off we went to look for food and things to buy. Now that didn't start off well because Jerry was in the mood to walk and decided not to drive.  He wanted to get cigarettes first and guess what, there was not a single 711 in sight!  He remembered seeing a Mini Stop on our way in - "Oh, it's just a block away."  The one block turned into 6...and you know me, the most I walk everyday is the distance from my desk to the pantry.  We made it to Mini Stop although Jerry had to stop me from hitching a ride every 5 minutes or so. From there, he wanted to "explore" more so we went around looking for the duty free shops.  I suppose that  walk was worth it - he found Miller Lite ! Background: this is his favor

...she normally finds herself anxious and/or bored. Last weekend was a bit different, though. Jer and I went to my company's anniversary party despite the fact that we were both dead tired from the day's activities. I was not really looking forward to it simply because I do not like parties. Jer, on the other hand, was hyped up because he knows how fun our parties can be. So what happened? Well, I found myself relaxing (the roast beef did the trick I think) and having a good time. It was not wild but it was not boring either. We left a little after midnight and had some dessert at a nearby Starbucks. Heaven on Earth and Blueberry Cheesecake - yum! Ruy and Jerry...?

I love cappuccino and cafe latte but I have never really tried making these coffee drinks on my own - until last weekend. I had some fresh milk from UPLB (they sell the best, seriously) and I thought of playing with LePieu to see what I could come up with. I looked at a few recipes online just to be sure. First I had to make espresso the way I normally do - 2 shots. Then I had to froth the milk using the steam wand. The instructions varied and I was quite unsure as to how long I had to steam the milk but I think the result was pretty good. The taste was very rich and creamy but the coffee flavor was still strong. As you can see, I didn't get much foam, though. I guess I have to do it longer next time.

I just made my first cup of cappuccino - hence the metaphor. Anyway, after a good night's (or morning's, actually) rest, the implications of my activities yesterday are starting to overwhelm me again. Worries about our finances are starting to flood my mind. The fact that we have to move in 2 weeks is not a very comfortable thought. I never imagined that this little space could hold so much stuff! I wish we had affordable services like movers New York so that we would not have to deal with the packing and moving ourselves. Even if we just have to go one floor down, it is not a very easy task...*sigh* Going back to the metaphor, I need the steam valve to be released. I need an infusion of positivity today, before I go back to work tomorrow!

We paid a visit to an appliance sale (thanks again, Livi!) yesterday and boy, did I get high! They sold brands like Moulinex, Krups, Brun, Dowell, and more. It was a bit overwhelming, seeing all those appliances being sold at very low prices. So what did I walk away with? Well, I was only really planning on getting a turbo broiler and I was so delighted to see one for only PhP1,100 (approx. 23 USD). I also wanted a coffee grinder and we found one for PhP1,300 (approx. 27 USD). As I was looking around, I noticed Jerry following me with a dirty and ugly box. There was a jewel inside, though - a Moulinex Duomo! This espresso machine normally sells for PhP5,000 (approx. 106 USD) but we got it for PhP1,800 (approx. 38 USD) - thanks to the box and a couple of scratches. Here are pics of our new babies. Oh yeah, we've named them already. The turbo is McQueen , the Duomo is LePieu, and the grinder is Grim . Since I got today off, we were able to play with them. I made barbec

I write for this other blog called Brewed Coffee and I have to tell you, it is a blast! I love coffee, I thrive on it, and reading up on everything and anything about it is just so much fun. Like today, I read a news article on how your coffee preference dictates your choice for the next United States President. BIGResearch is the company that conducted the survey and these are their findings: A recent survey found people who get their coffee from Starbucks prefer Barack Obama (44 percent) over JohnMcCain (37.8 percent), while McDonald’s coffee drinkers favor McCain (45.4 percent) over Obama (29.2 percent). Um, haven't these guys heard of demographics coming into play? It's kinda ridiculous but it was an amusing read. I prefer Starbucks for the taste but McDonald's will do for me as well. Does this mean I prefer Obama but will settle for McCain? What is your favorite coffee?

Shameless plug: Jer and I are trying out a business idea - we're selling Batangas coffee. For the uninitiated, Batangas coffee (kapeng barako in Tagalog) is from the coffee species coffea liberica . Wikipedia describes this species as: A species of coffee that originated in Liberia, West Africa. The coffee tree grows up to 9 metres in height, producing cherries that are larger than the cherries found on Arabica trees. The coffee was brought to Indonesia to replace the Arabica trees killed by the coffee rust disease at the end of the 19th Century. The coffee itself has more in common, cupping wise, with Robusta. It is still found in parts of Central and East Java today. A varietal of Liberica, known as Baraco, is a major crop in the Philippines. So this is the coffee that we drink at home - we have a friend who is from Batangas and she gets the coffee for us. We all decided to try and make a business out of it. So there, anyone from the Philippines interested? :) Look at how h