the struggle is real

• Lily the cat has been changing where she sleeps and I get woken up in the middle of the night as she comes and goes; her paws on my chest feel like gentle concentrated pokes.

• The cookies haven’t shipped and I have this sinking feeling that when they do arrive, opening them would be a surprise. But small businesses are struggling and at the end of the day, it’s just unhealthy sugar I shouldn’t be having. Not be going to be that person mouthing off on social-media over something as petty as cookies.

• And talking about mouthing-off on social media, when I see people who praise the Marcoses as if they’re the second coming of Christ, I’m like DEAR LORD, steer me away from evil. I’m back on Twitter and wanting to be clean this time (follow me? @rufino_amor)

• There’s no food in the house. I was thinking of ordering some fish and chips across the road, but ended up opening a can of spaghetti. Yup, spaghetti in a can.

• Still waiting on a new pair of shoes. Yup, a new pair again.

• Tuesday feels like Thursday

• What to get for Christmas?

• I need to see a dermatologist like ASAP

• I need to see a dentist first lol

Monday

Today was okay; sometimes, getting through the day quietly and efficiently is all you need

Air Zoom Tempo NEXT% x Off-White™

Is your tooth sweet?

In 2020 and putting aside the chaos and heartache of Covid aside, I watched with envy how Filipino foodies bloomed; a culinary feast amidst the blight of the pandemic, and all at a tap on your digital screens.

While in New Zealand, there was uhm KFC and your neighbourhood Indian takeaway (ground-breaking).

Not that I would end up binging and spending hundreds of dollars on non-essential, processed food- but it was sad that there wasn’t much choice in a country with so much abundance.

But now, good Lord- it must be the frustrations from last year, boredom, or simply inspiration, but we have a flood of sweet goodies- don’t have a sweet-tooth I must admit, but here’s a couple I’d shell out some good dollars for:

messykitchenbakes.com

Creme Brulee Sourdough doughnuts

Daldang

Two words: Korean macarons called fatcarons

Hello Smash Cake

Take out your frustrations on a smash cake that ships with a cute wooden mallet. Smash the cake and treats inside!

cookiecartel.co.nz

These are 220gram monster cookies and available for order only once a week

The Macaron Company

There are heaps of macaron sellers in Auckland but if you want something a little bit more custom like your own design, this company can make that happen

Soet.co.nz

They offer what you call a cruffin, a hybrid of a croissant and a muffin which they say are hand-made over a 3-day process. Their Caramel Popcorn Cruffin is dual-filled with a Popcorn infused Crème Pâtissière and Salted Caramel. Topped with Caramel Popcorn.

happyslice.co

I like the occasional slice, usually a ginger one which is a bakery staple. But Happy Slice offers something a bit above the ordinary with slices that have Mars and Oreos and even Liquorice All sorts.

What's for dinner? Meat pie

When I first arrived in New Zealand, I had a short-lived obsession for supermarket and dairy staple, Big Ben pies which the kids loved it as a school or after-school snack.

I’ve come to appreciate more sophisticated pies since then- a couple of award-winning ones in fact- but given a choice between a wagyu beef and chanterelle mushroom pie and a siopao, I’d honestly pick the siopao.

I don’t know really- sometimes like with steak and kidney (a favourite), there can be a bit of stodginess or heaviness to it. And sometimes I feel, the use of pastry which is so western throws me off a bit which I associate (and prefer) more with sweet like a good apple pie (I made individual apple pies in a muffin pan a couple of weeks back actually).

But having store-bought flaky pastry is good enough reason to try and make some, which at a glance on Youtube seemed so straightforward that I didn't use any particular recipe. You can basically flavour your beef whichever way you want it. I did the traditional route as if I was making normal beef stew; sear and brown the beef pieces first (I used a cheap blade steak cut) before putting them on a slow-cooker to soften. I used mushrooms but put them in a food processor with brown onions and garlic, and fried them in butter. Seasoning of course was Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, several tablespoons of chipotle sauce and heaps of black pepper.

We currently don’t have proper individual pie pans- thinking of getting some of those traditional enamel ones- so had to stuff them into a muffin pan. The portions were small that I couldn’t really seal the tops nicely and two, if you want your pies to be on the saucy side, there’s not enough room for the sauce either.

But they turned out perfect, like really; about 20 minutes in the oven at 180 and they were done. Served them with store-bought deli veggies.

Adele30

We were soaked. I almost peed where we sat, with my poncho as a cover- no one would have seen nor cared anyway. She was spectacular. And I’m not really a singer-music kind of person, but before the 21 album exploded, I was already listening constantly to 19 without caring who she was. Can’t remember what I was going through then (nothing dramatic really, maybe just depressed by the fact that I was living in a country that seemed so basic), but I listened to her everyday on the last iPod that I would ever own.

Video snippets below strung together- and yes, this was the year that the iPhone I had, was the 1st water-resistant one (the iPhone 7). Perfect timing!

So fuck you Covid- you’re not going to mess up Adele’s concert plans.

What are you?...

Watching?

Foundation: American science fiction drama television series created by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman for Apple TV+, based on the Foundation series of stories by Isaac Asimov. I came across this when I was in high school but thought of it as being ‘too scholarly’, so I passed and took on Ursula Le Guin, Ray Bradbury and Margaret Atwood instead. Apple does it great justice with Apple $$$$$ (image above is of the mysterious ‘vault’; drawn on Procreate).

Reading?

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: The last time I took a literary recommendation from Wired Magazine, was the awful vampire novel Carpathia by Matt Forbeck. But what got me hooked to giving one of their recommendations another try was the word, ‘hopepunk’ - science fiction with the feels. Instead of being described as ‘critically-praised’, her novel, is ‘much-loved’. Now, what can go wrong with that? Synopsis of the novel from Wiki:

Fleeing her old life, Rosemary Harper joins the multi-species crew of the Wayfarer as a file clerk, and follows them on their various missions throughout the galaxy. The novel concerns itself with character development rather than adventure. Each member of the crew has a story that unfolds, or a crisis to face. They encounter several alien environments on the slow path to their destination. At the end, the ship is damaged by hostile aliens, precipitating changes in the relationships between the characters, setting them on new paths.

Self-published initially via a Kickstarter campaign, the book was shortlisted for the 2016 Arthur C. Clarke Award, earned a nomination for the British Fantasy Awards' 2016, won the Sydney James Bounds Award for Best Newcomer & was the first self-published novel to be shortlisted for the Kitschies Golden Tentacle for Best Debut Novel

(Image above drawn on Sketchbook)

Be (stylishly) masked

But of course! Though I wouldn't go as far as buying and wearing Will.i.am’s dystopian looking Xupermask. I’m actually lying- I would actually buy it (at $299, it’s far from being the most expensive non-essential thing I’ve bought) if I could compete with the bots (it’s all sold out). Will is your poor man’s version of Steve Jobs/Jony Ive (remember the Puls smartwatch and the ugly ass Dolce Gusto coffee machine?), but I’m liking the aesthetics of this mask.

But moving on, I’ll settle for something cheaper like $30 masks from Herschel (+ get one free as per a product promotion). I love Herschel- have a couple of their bags- but sometimes I wonder if I still fit their demographic (high-schoolers to freshman college).

The masks took a million years to ship from Australia, but they’re here and while they seem a bit flimsy, the fit around the nose is what matters most; it curves downward which means it doesn’t allow your stinky breath to fog your glasses, yay!

I took a snapchat of them and while I was putting in my topic labels, a couple of similar ones popped up like #maskssuck #masksoff. A suggestion for people who are inclined to use these hashtags; try snap chatting how cool you look in a hospital bed dying from Covid coz that would get a million views…

A whiff of summer

It was warm today, very warm. An almost tropical-like 22 degrees.

When you hear of climate change, it seems inconceivable to think of temperatures so unbearable that it goes beyond being annoyed that your armpits are soaked; that your face and head are oily; that your thighs are sticking to each other.

Even as recent as the mid-2000s, I was already consciously reconfiguring my life around the heat; most of my clothes were Nikes as they had that sweat-wicking fabric; I secretly had baby powder pressed inside a hanky to absorb the oil on my face, not to mention the habit of washing my face at least five times a day. But of course, I only realised later that the best remedy was to leave the tropics altogether for a country with a temperate climate.

Auckland however can still get hot, but just enough that makes you think- shall we shell out $$$ for an AC? But not yet. We hope, maybe not in the next 5 years, two?

When the sun drops, so does the temperature to 10 or 8 degrees and that is still cold for me. Rare are the nights when it gets so humid that you end up in your underwear (I can’t remember a time that I DID NOT use the duvet which I still use 24/7).

Anyhow, enjoy the pleasantness while it lasts.

The lockdown goes on

I should feel terrible when I say, I don’t really care if lockdown goes on and on. And on.

When you’re fine and comfortable, someone out there is suffering, or worse, getting crazy- because they’re crazy to begin with- and only waiting for that trigger.

Which could be anything- the lockdown; their spouse’s nagging; the All Blacks losing; or a two-hour wait for KFC. Again.

The whole world is triggered and you have to watch out for your own triggers, and I do have mine. I spent the entire Sunday, cleaning and putting things in order as if my life depended on it. I ironed, dusted, vacuumed, sorted my clothes (a feat in itself); took stock of what was in the freezer, made a meal plan, did laundry and even managed to sketch a portrait of Lily which I didn't finish; I was using water-colour pens which can be a bit limiting. I also managed to exercise and watch two episodes of my current favourite show on Apple TV and all before bedtime at 9:30pm.

If that wasn’t being productive (if not verging on being OCD), I don’t know what is.

You can choose how you’re triggered is all I’m saying. And more importantly, you can find a way to cope with the current situation, and if you can’t, ask for help.

What's for dinner? NOT KFC

I like chicken in general and KFC is probably one that is reliably always there, because it is- there’s three within an 8 kilometre radius of where I live and work (South Auckland). But if other favourites were in the vicinity, it would be down there in my list.

When Auckland changed to Covid Alert Level 3 which meant that food places would be open, you couldn’t even order KFC- the demand was so high that deliveries were suspended. It was amusing for like 5 seconds; to sit in your car in a two-hour queue for take-away food is RETARDED.

I think part of my attraction to it was that I always thought that frying chicken was hard; or that it’s dangerous (latest accident was last year when I was frying some in a shallow electric-frying pan).

So I had to discard all my old and wrong frying habits (like watching stupid non-professional food vloggers), learn from the boring pros and voila- perfect chicken. Not that it was really that hard, to begin with, but it’s simply being mindful of tried and tested scientific principles of cooking:

1. Proportion of batter ingredients

2. Heating and cooking times (baseline for in-bone chicken pieces like a big drumstick is 14 min)

3. Resting the meat before serving

Frankly, I never really followed any of the above! When I felt like making it, I just did what I always did and moaned afterwards that it wasn’t satisfying for all the effort that went into it.

What we call chicken nibbles here is my favourite- you finish like 20 pieces and that’s not really a lot considering how little the meat is. This one above has two flavours; plain with just a dusting of chicken salt (turned out to be the better one) and Korean which was just alright.

Not going to type out the recipe: got it from below, the same peeps where I learned a fool-proof way to amazing roast crispy pork belly:

Slow crawl today

I’m only on 37.5 hours a week so on Fridays, I finish up at 2pm. This arrangement was a throwback from when I first started and nearly everyone else has converted to 40 hours. I’ve thought about it too many times to count, but haven’t made the plunge (once you go 40, you can’t revert back). I thought about the money- the additional 2.5 hours is what wage-wise? Pre-tax $5K? Didn't convince me. For one thing, on some Fridays, I work beyond 2pm- my choice, so money is not a factor.

And this is the thing about work- on some days, it feels like work. Like today. It feels like a slow crawl to 2pm and I know for sure that when it hits 2, I’m clocking off. Unless my boss rings for something. These are the days- who knew I’d be one to crave for sunshine but I do now. Today is over-cast with a hint of rain, hardly inspiring. But I did the laundry anyway during morning tea break because I had to do stuff.

So I’m actually glad, I’m off at 2. Happy weekend everyone!

Let there be light

We got some new shelving for the upstairs- nothing fancy, just industrial shelving from the local Mitre 10- and because I hate over-head lighting (unless it were pin-lights), I thought, why not get a floor lamp?

My budget was reasonable, anything a bit over $100 was fine and of course, I saw these…( and no, couldn't afford these):

The outdoor Tolomeo Paralume by Artemide

This is my favourite. It looks like the lamp has been photoshopped to look this big, but it is this big. Artemide is an Italian design-oriented manufacturer founded in 1960. They’re known for their award-winning lighting designs. This one retails from $3625.

Stack Nau by Zachary Hanna

Winner of the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Design Awards, this combines the functionality of a lamp, a bookshelf and a side table all into one. The wiring has been cleverly integrated into the solid natural timber structure.

Gino Sarfatti floor lamp by Astep

Would you believe this was designed in 1954? Sarfatti’s goal for this design was to put the aesthetic focus on the light source itself which is the fluorescent tubular bulb. That aluminium box is actually the power supply and works to balance the base. As I generally don’t like fluorescent lighting, I’m glad I won’t fork out $5,495 which is how much this retails for.

Svend Aage Holm-Sørensen cone floor lamp by Warm Nordic

Anyone who loves Ikea can probably immediately tell the design DNA of this lamp. Designed in 1954, the small solid oak shelf table on it, is a great nod to that period. A steal at $1395

End of the week

Got my 2nd dose of the Pfizer vaccine today dressed in a pink hoodie, sweat shorts and Nikes with red socks. After the shot, I was asked to wait out my 20 minutes in a holding area with three other people- seniors- who warmly welcomed me as if I was suddenly part of an exciting new order- the vaccinated.

In about 10 minutes, our bond was even made stronger by the fact that we all shared the same sentiment- that people who refuse to be vaccinated, or are skeptical of it, or worse, actively worked and campaigned against it, were scum of the earth.

And of course I went there because I couldn’t help myself; well, the day will come when we come face to face with a Covid mutation that’s far more lethal than any current variant, let’s see how they’ll deal with that’

Everyone went quiet. I waited for a bit thinking they were all formulating their response to that, but nope. Silence.

Okay!

What's for dinner? Chickpea stew

This is from a recipe that apparently broke the internet, by New York Time Food writer and chef Alison Roman (see her recipe here); as to why, who knows? It’s not particularly ground-breaking nor sublimely delicious I’m telling you now. But then anything or anyone can break the internet, it’s just a fact of life.

But if you feel like you need a break from meat (we had lamb for Sunday dinner), this should work. It’s a very capable dish that ticks the boxes; substantial, spicy, creamy and healthy. I get anxious whenever I sit down to just a vegetable dish, so as a concession, I chopped up a couple of strips of bacon, but you can totally take this out (or use bigger chunks like lardons!).

Here’s my recipe:

Ingredients:
Two cans of chickpeas
half a cup finely chopped white onion, garlic and ginger
A can of coconut milk
powdered turmeric
seasoning to taste (chill flakes, sea salt- I also used chicken powder)
silverbeet or any leafy greens (if I were in the Philippines I would use heaps of maluggay)
bacon (optional)

Method:
Saute the aromatics. Put in the chickpeas and add the turmeric. Add coconut milk. Season to suit. Add greens. Alison suggested serving with yoghurt (or a spritz of citrus like lime or lemon) and this brightens the taste up as it does when you do the same thing with curry. It was served with bread (why???), but try it with rice instead.

Where you at?

The ties that bind
My fraternity brothers from college have set-up this Viber chat group and after all these years, we’re all still what we’ve always been. J the joker; M the rich guy; S still-doesn’t-like-me; B is still tense; B2 still the nice guy. There’s a couple I miss- L, who is MIA; M who is still as dodgy as ever. And then those who have passed on- D and A. Plans are being made for 2022 and I’m thinking, I’d like to get there. I don’t think it’s too optimistic to believe that I can drag my ass to the Philippines in a year’s time. As we normally say in the fraternity- ‘S__ R___ Fight!’

Sept 11
I believe Anna gave birth after Sept 11 not sure really, But I remember watching the events on the news unfold knowing that Chris was on his way to the airport. Happy 20th birthday to my goddaughter Angela.

Not hard enough
I’m inherently lazy and I think it’s genetic. I see my brother and remember my uncles and how they lounged about with their lanky bodies, smoking and being chill. It’s not really laziness, but more of an aversion to too much effort, which is what you need to get abs. I know that I’m vain, but I know it goes way beyond vanity when I refuse to slouch (even if no one is looking); or to not eat anything until noon so that my stomach feels flat and firm; or to dress impeccably even when just buying something at the dairy just across from my house. It’s because I’m still alive and kicking goddamn it and when I am, I will try to be my best 24/7. But then I feel I don’t try hard enough- or harder. And these days I am, trying even harder even if I must admit, I’m inherently lazy.

Stuff
I want the new Go Pro 10; still hemming and hawing about getting the new iPad Pro with the M1 chip; NOT buying a new iPhone this year; I want a new drone; I want a medium-format camera.

Fuck off to (and I’m avoiding having my new Twitter account suspended)
Still the Republicans; the state of Texas; all the American states that are Republican; anti-vaxxers; Nicki Minaj; anti-maskers; athletes who want to eat their cake and have it too; a generation who want to eat their cake and have it too and have the audacity to cancel people who call them out; David Seymour and Judith Collins; Bongbong Marcos and his entire fucking family; historically challenged Filipinos who support Bongbong Marcos; and the entire corrupt, ratchet Duterte government.

When it's actually a blessing being bored

It was a Tuesday when it was announced that there was a community case of Covid, and that Patient 0.2 had been to a million places. I was at home early, in bed and on instinct, went to a supermarket website to get online delivery. A million other people had the same idea, but had gone to a physical store instead. This was Sam and me last year thinking we were clever in leaving the house for the nearest supermarket 15 minutes before the prime minister could announce lockdown, but we didn't get squat. A thousand other cunts had gone there first and the staff decided to close.

I could feel the website crashing at some point but I held on and an hour and a half later, successfully got my order. I spent the next couple of days/weeks working, with the supermarket website open and refreshed every 30 minutes to catch one of the precious few slots for delivery, and so far have been 100% successful- this was a good thing because the supermarkets became a hot-bed of Covid exposure sites.

Doing and waiting for the grocery deliveries is pretty much the only exciting thing during lockdown which is still ongoing.

Trash, garbage people

1. Anti-vaxxers

2. The Taliban

3. The Russian government

4. The Chinese government

5. Republicans

What's in your basket today?

1. Anti-perspirant

2. packet of cocktail sausages

3. packet of paprika flavoured crisps

4. packet of tortilla chips

5. can of chickpeas

6. juice (carrot, ginger, apple)

7. two pottles of sour cream

8. cup of instant noodle soup (chicken)

Meaty Friday

I had a work lunch at Little Jimmy in Epsom with some office staff and our web dev guys. Though I was eyeing a fish starter and a veggie side, I ended up with their Wagyu Beef Short Rib fillet with celeriac puree and some bokchoy. It was the size of my fist- and I have a small fist.

Luckily, one of the guys offered to share his curly fries. It needed a side, just saying ( and I was really hungry that day). It was labelled as a large plate too which was not accurate. To compare, Sarah from work ordered a small plate of trevally ceviche, and the ‘small plate’ was actually a condiment bowl. I know that the restaurant industry is struggling but…

Dinner/ Blue Ox Babe BBQ
Continuing our fortnight eating-out runs, we put aside Korean for a change and tried out this Texas barbecue joint in Pukekohe with the strange name of Blue Ox Babe. If you’re not sure of how much meat you’re supposed to order you can ask them to make that decision for you. We ordered the brisket, pork belly, sausages and the ribs and skipped the chicken. With four adults (Matt was still at work), they recommended doubling the ribs to a full stack.

For sides, we had two curly fries (there’s a loaded one slathered with pulled pork), slaw and the pickled cucumber (the total bill was just under our magic number of $200).

They were spot on with the quantity though I would be happy with just the brisket and the ribs. The ribs were great- firm with a nice even layer of fat on top (I loathe ribs with the meat falling off) and unslathered with sickly sweet sauce which I also hate. I would’ve wanted rice for a side- or something plain, like maybe corn on the cob or even bread buns. The curly fries were a disappointment; they were under-seasoned and hard.

The hero side was the obviously home-made pickles - actually crinkle sliced Lebanese cucumbers with just the right combination of tang, crunch and acidity to freshen your palate for another forkful of meat (and no forks!).

We were in agreement that next time, we would do takeaway and eat it at home with rice.

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