KOKOLOGY #005: A Night At The Symphony

Hey you!

How you doin’? Ready for some KOKOLOGY game?

Okay, today, for the girls, put on your best evening gown and for the boys, your neat tux. Let’s go and watch a Symphony concert; or should I say grab your instruments since you’re joining the Orchestra.

A Night At The Symphony

There’s something magical about a night at the symphony – a sense of expectation and pure pleasure. Imagine being able to take a place on that stage among the other musicians, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to perform at your very best. If you could join the orchestra, what instrument do you see yourself playing?

1. Violin
2. String Bass
3. Trumpet
4. Flute

KOKOLOGY #004: On Your Birthday

Hello everyone!

Time for our fourth round of KOKOLOGY. A lot of my friends are enjoying answering these questions and discovering something about themselves. So why stop?

Today, it’s all about YOU because… It’s your birthday!

But before I give you my precious gift or even before you blow your cake, here’s some quick questions for you. Let’s go!

On Your Birthday

Your Birthday is the one day a year when you’re justified in expecting things to be just a little nicer than usual. Well wishes and congratulations, presents and cards, maybe even a party or romantic dinner for two.

It’s your birthday today, and when you check your mailbox you see you’ve gotten a card from someone you would have never expected.

Who is the sender?

You have also received a number of gifts from family & Friends. Of that group,

Who sent you the biggest package? (Give the names of people in your life when answering the quiz.)

KOKOLOGY #003: Deep In The Mountains

So, how did the last KOKOLOGY game about the “Theme Park” go? I’m very sure that it revealed a lot about yourself during sex.

Now it’s time for our next game. I’ve also decided to show you my answers here. Just for sharing.

Ready? Here we go.

Deep In The Mountains

The mountains and the sea—nature has a power that draws us to her. After all we are all nature’s children, born into her world and fed on her bounty. No matter what marvels technology may develop, getting back to nature lets us feel truly alive. Medical science may make advances, but the best medicine will always be nature’s own healing power.

Your next journey will take you back to that green world, and what better setting for you to rediscover your natural self?

1. You have set off to climb a mountain, in search of a fabulously rare stone. What is your impression of the mountain as you stand at its foot?

2. After a hard search, you still haven’t found the stone, and now the sun has fallen. What will you do next?

3. You have finally discovered the stone you were seeking. What kind of stone is it? Describe its size, weight, and value.

4. Now it is time to come down from the mountain and return home. What parting words do you have for the mountain, and what is its reply?

My Answers:

KOKOLOGY #002: The Ride Of Your Life

Hello!

So, how was your first KOKOLOGY game? Surprised on how true the interpretation of your answers were? Trust me, it was a jaw dropping experience for me too. Now who’s up for some more?

As promised, here’s the second KOKOLOGY game for you to answer. This one is one of my favorites and speaks the most truth about me in this aspect of life. You’ll know why later.

Goodluck on your next self discovery.

The Ride Of Your Life

How do you bring thrills into your lives? Watching movies, traveling, playing sports and games of chance. Or maybe a trip to an amusement park, a world where thrills mingle with fantasies. Let’s take a trip back to that realm of childhood excitement and fun.

1. You enter the park gate, the roller coaster looms before you with a line of people waiting their turn. How long do you have to wait in line before getting to ride?

2. Your turn finally comes and now you’re racing and plunging around the course. What kinds of feelings does the speed bring out in you?

3. At the most exciting point in the course, the roller coaster dives into a pool of water and you’re drenched by the spray. What do you shout or scream at this instant?

4. Next you decide to try the Merry-Go-Round. But during your ride, for some reason the horse you’re riding breaks down and stops moving. What do you say to the horse?

5. Your ride on the roller coaster was exciting, but it wasn’t all that it could have been. If you were going to design the perfect roller coaster, what would the course look like?

KOKOLOGY: The Game Of Self Discovery

First, cheers for my very first entry this 2012!!!

Last Sunday, over some Nachos, Buffalo Wings, and rounds of Tanduay Ice, my friend Edel introduced my friend Ian to the very unique and fun game of KOKOLOGY.

KOKOLOGY comes in two words — KOKORO and LOGY. The Japanese term KOKORO means a soul or spirit and LOGY- a greek word for study. It simply means a study of Soul or spirit. The game present a series of psychological questions that are designed to reveal one’s hidden attitudes about sex, family, love, work, and other elements of one’s life. It is essentially a game of self-discovery that can provide interesting, and often hilarious insight by answering questions to seemingly innocent topics. We played this a couple of months ago and we were amazed on how TRUE our answers turned out.

So, if me and my friends can play it, so can we! Starting today, I will post a couple of KOKOLOGY questions here. You will answer it and then, theres a “Click to Reveal Interpretation” button at the bottom of the screen. You will click that to view the interpretation of your answers once you FINISHED answering ALL the questions.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers; just write down the first thing that comes into your mind. You can also share your answers by leaving a comment.

Ready??? Let’s start.

Into the Depths

This scenario leads us into the dark world, where the line between simple thrills and actual fear is blurred.

Jot down your answers to the following questions:

1. You are in an old, abandoned building where no human has set foot for years and have discovered a staircase leading underground. Slowly you make your way down, counting the steps as you go. One step… two… three… How many steps is it to the bottom of the stairs?

2. The underground room is pitch black. Then, from the darkness you hear the sound of another person. Is the person weeping softly? Moaning wordlessly? Is it a voice speaking to you?

3. How do you react on hearing the sound of this other person? Do you try to search out the source? Is your first instinct to run up the stairs without looking back? Or are you paralyzed with fear and frozen where you stand?

4. You hear a person now calling your name and see a figure descending from the light at the top of the stairs. Who is this person coming down the stairs?

JUST SHARING: I’m Thinking Of Having A Break From Facebook

YES, I AM A SELF CONFESSED FACEBOOK ADDICT. I check my account every now and then, upon waking up, before going to sleep, while eating, while in the bathroom, while talking to someone etc.

“Since my life has been an open book, no one wants to read it anymore”

This quote hit me today. In addition to that, my friend Lester have decided to deactivate his Facebook account. I asked him why and he just said “Gusto ko lang na magkaroon ng katahimikan, na pag-dedma sa pinaggagagawa ng iba, at para hndi binabaha ng notifications, invites, at kung ano-ano pa”.

Actually, it makes sense.

A couple of months ago, I thought of having a Facebook Hiatus to have break from all these craziness. Today, I tried listing the reasons why:

I AM DISTRACTED - Having an iPhone, I can check my Facebook anytime, anywhere, and anyday. Here at work, we are allowed to browse from time to time and that’s the point. With all my access to the site, every notification distracts me from what I’m doing at work. Kasi feeling ko, if I don’t respond now, it won’t be as much fun later. And let’s admit it, its the notifications that keep us coming back for more correct? It’s very tempting! The result? I couldn’t concentrate on the tasks that I need to do and worst, I don’t do it well. Tsk!

SILENT GET TOGETHERS - When friends go for a coffee or dinner, they should be talking to each other about the things that happened to them the whole day/week. I just observed that some people, when they arrive at the venue, they automatically pull out their smart phones and update people where they are and whom they are with, which in fact, no one really cares. Then the circle will be in total silence. It happens. (I’m guilty too).

NOTHING TO TALK ABOUT - Sometimes, when I’m very excited to see someone because I wanna tell him/her something, they are not curious or excited about it anymore. Why? Because they have already seen everything on Facebook kasi I’ve already posted it, and vice-versa. So the whole meeting becomes awkward with nothing to talk about anymore. I really miss hanging out with friends and talking to them in person. That’s more fun I guess.

NEGA-STARS - A lot of people use Facebook to complain, release their anger, attack people without confronting them, posting negative comments, etc. Some people are even out there to get sympathy, post their personal problems online and post “PATAMA Quotes”. It’s quite annoying and I’m just tired of it. I did this too before, but I’m glad that I was able to overcome it. (Ironic since I guess this is a type of complaint too?). Oh well.

GET RID OF THAT “OBLIGED” FEELING - Now I actually feel like I’m obliged to check my account and respond to every notification and I dont want that feeling anymore. Maybe I just need a quiet time.

On the contrary, Facebook is a great way to connect with people you already know especially when they are miles away, like my Mom (although my Mom has Twitter and she can call us anytime). Also, I get some of my blog readers from Facebook and its fun to share my latest discoveries with them.

I’m still thinking about it though. Maybe I’ll give myself a day or two.

THE NEW LIFESTYLE NIGHT MARKET: Distrito At Makati

I went to Starbuck’s People Support today to get my daily tea and I saw this tent inside the Makati Medical Center’s parking lot, full of people, and there was SMOKE. You know what they say, when there’s smoke, there’s food.

I found out that its the newest food lover’s hub in the Metro called Distrito – a weekday lifestyle market located at the Amorsolo Open Parking lot (beside Makati Med) which actually opened last Friday, November 25.

It’s kinda like Mercato, Salcedo, Banchetto and the newly opened one in Alabang called Soderno but the difference is its open during the weekdays, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, from 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM. Definitely a good news for us working in the night shift eating “fast food” the whole week. Yey!

This is also the first-ever Night Market in Makati and it will run until the end of December. So if you’re near the area and you wake up hungry at midnight, go in your pyjamas and eat there.

I’ve invited my office mates and friends later to try it during our lunch break. I will do a follow-up article on the goodies that we will try.

Distrito at Makati
Amorsolo Open Parking Lot
(beside Makati Medical Center)
Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
9 p.m. until 3 a.m.

THAI FOOD CRAVINGS: Don’s Instant Pad Thai

My food cravings are crazy.

Last Monday, I’ve decided to give in to my cravings, went to the nearest grocery store, and look for the ingredients for a popular staple food in Thailand, Pad Thai.

I suddenly remembered my first encounter with Thai food. It was when me and my very good friend Ian walked the streets of Bangkok, just moments after we checked-in in our Hotel to have dinner. We saw this street with small restaurants with chairs outside full of people happily eating. The guy gave us the menu and we ordered Pad Thai and Mango Salad. That’s when I fell in love with it.

My First Pad Thai, taken last July 31 in Bangkok.

It was unfogettable. Stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, bean sprouts, garnished with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime. You can also choose between shrimp, chicken, or tofu to add to it. That alone proved that Thai food is quite good.

Let’s go back to the grocery store. Ofcourse I wouldn’t be able to get the exact mix of those ingredients since not everything is available here. So, as much as I dont want to, I went for the next best thing… INSTANT. Yes, I found this instant Pad Thai in the grocery store which the package includes rice noodles and that special ready to cook sauce in a pouch. All you need is to add the vegetables and meat. I tried it yesterday and I’m gonna share how did I do it.

“GIVE IN TO CRAVINGS” PAD THAI
By: The Lazy Don Predilla

You will need:

1 pack Kitchen 88 Instant Pad Thai (complete with rice noodles and sauce)
12 pcs. Peeled and deveined Shrimps
1 pc. Egg
Handful of Bean Sprouts
Handful of roasted Peanuts
1 Tbsp. Chili Sauce
3 Tbsp. Oil
Half of Lime

Ok, lets do this:

1. Cook the rice noodles in 4 cups of boiling water until al dente. Roughly 3-4 minutes. Set aside.

2. In a wok, heat the oil, cook the shirmps until they turn orange in color.

3. Add the egg and mix it.

4. Empty the contents of the sauce pouch. Mix. Add the chilli sauce and the bean sprouts and peanuts.

5. Add the noodles and stir-fry it. Put in a plate and garnish with crushed peanuts and lime.

Tadaaaaah! And thats your instant Pad Thai. So easy huh? A pacakge serves two.

Now, it was not that close to what I first tasted in Bangkok, but its good. The tamarindy and peanuty taste was there and the noodles were just perfect. Overall, it was a nice “give in to your cravings” moment.

Kŏr hâi jà-rern aa-hăan! (Bon Appetit!)

WET & WILD WEEKEND: Boating and Rafting In Pagsanjan Falls

Last Saturday, I joined Isaac, Joy and their two foreigner colleagues, Adrianos from Venezuela/Greece/Spain and Elena from Italy on a weekend getaway. The plan was to show them around and bring them to the famous Pagsanjan Falls. I was so excited since I haven’t been there and I thought that it only existed in postcards. I suddenly remembered when teachers asked us to submit some “Philippine Landmarks” projects in grade school.

Before heading to the falls, we stopped by Joy’s beautiful home in Victoria, Laguna for lunch where they served us a seafood feast fit for a King. There was Inihaw na Bangus, Tilapia, Ensaladang Mangga, Kare-Kare, Sinigang na Isda, Seaweed Salad, Guinataang Langka, and the sweetest mangoes ever! Her family, as always, was so nice and accommodating and we were so damn full. Adrianos and Elena cant resist on trying every single dish. (Sorry, I have no photos, I was too busy eating)

An then we went to the town of Pagsanjan which is a 30-minute drive from Victoria. I’ve noticed that there were a lot of resorts along the riverbanks where tourists like us can stay in if we plan of staying overnight. After paying the tickets which costs P 1,500 per head, we were so ready to go; and me, scared as hell as always. I dunno, I’m really scared of drowning since I can’t swim.

Two boats were allotted for us since each boat can only accommodate three people plus two boat guides. We were each provided life vests to ensure our safety in case our boats tumble down.

At the start of the trip, our boats were hooked up on a motor boat that dragged us for about 15 minutes upstream until we reached the rougher waters of the river where rocks pile up and the waters get shallower. From the boat, we saw the set of GMA 7′s TV series Amaya and the beautiful tree which, according to the boatmen, became the setting for that old teen TV series entitled ‘Tabing Ilog’ (the hut and the dock was not there anymore though).

A few minutes more, the hard tasks of our two boat guides started. With one Manong in front and the other at the back, each of them used their feet (barefoot) and hands to push the boat upstream against the rushing rapids. I saw the struggle on their faces as they push and pull our heavy boat towards our destination. I really feel for these men. At this stage Me, Joy and her husband Tomas were discussing that perhaps our original tip amount was too small and their efforts should be fairly compensated. I then noticed that the river was calmer and quiet which only meant one thing, we were on the deeper sections of the river. Thoughts in mind were Crocodiles, Piranhas, and Anacondas. Seriously!

We then stopped at a big waterfall but, it was not the Pagsanjan Falls yet. We were told that when the waters are too violent due to heavy rains, sometimes the boats go only until here. We got off and there was a store offering us some food and water since this would be our only chance for refreshments as there was nothing available at the falls itself. We were too excited to be thinking about food at this point so we continued our journey.

Now, the path along the river is full of lush greenery. It was very quiet and the only sound that I heard was the water, the creatures in the nearby forest and our voices saying “Wow, and ganda”. It was a worthwhile sight. Kinda reminded me of those scenes in movies Jurassic Park, along the Amazon River or from the movie Anaconda (and yes, I’m still thinking of the big snake).

Then we reached the famous Pagsanjan falls. It was not as big as I imagined but I felt that it’s strong, mighty, and still majestic. You see, I have this fascination about waterfalls, fairies, and forest creatures so it was like the perfect setting.

But here’s the fun part. Under the waterfall there is a hole and you can actually go under the falls and into that cave right on. So, with no hesitations, we left all of our things, jumped into the bamboo raft, and went underneath the falls. The bamboo raft was strongly and tightly secured to big ropes and was navigated by two very muscled Manongs. I was so scared that the falls might kill me but guess what, I had the coldest, craziest, hardest, and most unique shower of my life! Its like being in the middle of a hurricane. We went for a short swim inside the cave and went back. We got drenched from head to toe!

We then decided to go back. It was faster going downstream and less effort for our boatmen because we were going with the flow. We were so excited by the speed that we raised our hands only to realize that we were supposed to stay still. The water gushed in so fast and we panicked. I thought were gonna drown but luckily, we didn’t. But it was fun! Hahaha! We got back at the river banks past 6:00 PM and was so excited to change out of our wet clothes. We were all happy of the experience and glad that Adrianos and Elena enjoyed the trip. Getting wet was all worth it!

30-MINUTE WORKOUT: Circuit Training at the 360˚ Fitness Club

It is true that “Fitness is not a chore, it’s a choice”. Yeah, like come on, who doesn’t want to be happy, fit, and healthy. However, there are lot of factors why some people don’t get up and exercise: Time, they are busy and pre-occupied with their personal schedule, Membership fees, high-end gyms required a very high membership fees in order to avail all the facilities and programs, Motivation, not determined and doesn’t have the drive and Routine, routine exercises appears boring and too tiring. But what if I tell you that there’s a new fitness place that would change all that?

It was a one boring night shift when my friend Richard told me about this new fitness place that opened its newest branch a couple of blocks away from our office building. It’s called 360° Fitness Club. He immediately gave me the link and I, with much excitement, researched about the gym and guess what, we had our “Free Trial” a while ago.

The whole idea behind the 360° Circuit Training session is to incorporate a full body workout in just 30 minutes. You go around 20 exercise stations (10 active and 10 active rest stations) in 30 minutes. You spend 30 seconds per station. The fitness club does not rely on heavy machines; they believed that, “Machines limit the body’s range of motion and the number of exercise it can do. Most exercise machines force us to sit down while working out, that takes your core out of the equation.”

The 10 active stations has either weights in the form of dumbbells or balls, mats for floor exercises, a TRX suspension cable, and so forth. The 10 active rest stations have a trampoline, a pair of hurdles, or just a pair of stickers to indicate that you should jog in place. After the warm –up, you exercise non-stop by going around all the stations in 10 minutes. Per station, you will be given a 30 second time allowance to do the exercise. After completing one round, you do it again twice, making it a 30-minute full body workout. You don’t need a timer for this since they have their own “playlist” playing in the background which autmatically reminds you when to move to the next station.

The 360° Circuit Training combines cardiovascular and strengthening exercises. It’s suggested that you do it at least 3x a week in order to get the full benefits. Aside from circuit training they also have special classes for Hip Hop, Body Jam, Yoga, Pole Dancing, Latin Dance, TRX training, etc.

The workout reminded me so much of my high school days when I was in training for a CAT Officer. There was a sergeant (coach) telling you how to do the exercises and the 30 minutes felt more like the 2 hours I spend at my previous gym. Muscles I didn’t know existed were sore (until now while I’m typing this), my heart rate was up until I was about to go to sleep, and I had already been sweating like a pig from the first 10 minutes of the circuit (at my previous gym, I needed to run 30 minutes before I would start to sweat). It’s a one of a kind work-out and exercising the whole body for 30 minutes was really cool, especially for us people on the go. It really felt good! That’s why we got the one year membership (P 2,090 per month).

I would recommend this for people who are too busy to insert a physical activity in their daily schedules and those gym-goers who would like to try something new. If you want to try it first, you can just call or walk-in to avail of a free trial 360° Circuit Training session.

Hope to see you there!

360˚ Fitness Club Ortigas
13th Floor, Strata 100 Bldg.
F. Ortigas Jr. Road [formerly Emerald Ave.]
Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City
[t] 577.7807
[m] 0917.560.0360
[e] 360fitness@completethecircuit.com

360˚ Fitness Club Makati
7th floor, 107 Dolmar Gold TowerC. Palanca St., Legaspi Village, Makati City
[t] 940.9575
[m] 0917.860.0360
Duo: 02 623.0911
[e] 360fitness@completethecircuit.com