Cupcakes and Traffic and the Circus

As we were about to wrap up our most recent Sunday, aka Father's Day 2012, dark clouds and thunders rolled in. The rains were pretty horrifying; it was pretty strong. Good thing our family had already gone home post-affair and pre-crazy weather: the baptism of my niece and then a brief F-Day sweet snacks at Slice at the Bonifacio High Street, in that pretty new and slick end.

So! To start the week off:

Slice at the BHS

I'm a little cupcake, hear me roar.

I was pretty glad that my sister remembered a dessert place we could flock to other than the usual coffee shop --- and what I mean by "the usual" my eyebrows are pointing at those Western franchises with caffeinated concoctions that normally taste the same (but we are pretty addicted to, unfortunately).
Slice offers the usual pasta, sandwiches, soup, etc. but the main highlights are the sweets, particularly the cupcakes. It was nice they promote the cupcakes according to their health benefits like the presence of fiber, antioxidants, and other great stuff. The calorie counts are left out, of course, haha.

I must say that the cupcakes seemed healthy: they have a good dose of selections with fruit or vegetable cake base and toppings and stuffings. My parents loved the Banana Berry and Morning Glory and my sister in-law had the Pineapple-Carrot Surprise which my two year-old niece, surprisingly, went crazy about. I went the chocolate route and had the Choco Madness which was supposed to be good for me because chocolate is an anti-oxidant and a good pick-me-upper. My four year-old nephew chose the Chocolate Stirrer after pointing at this chocolate bar with a stick in the display case; this turns out to be a sort of milk-and-dessert plate, served with a tiny pitcher of warm milk and you're supposed to stir in the "stirrer" until it melts or you can always opt to bite the bar and finish it off with the milk. Messy and fun and healthy. Many articles have underlined the health benefits of chocolate like in this article from The Huffington Post.

We pretty much enjoyed our snacks, the place was cozy but full, and the waiters were apologetic naman should certain orders get delayed. Cupcakes are at around Php70-80 a pop, which doesn't seem bad but they're pretty small. We enjoyed the coffee but my brother complained his drink (I think it has some "lava" word in it) was too sweet for his taste. I definitely loved the wooden chopping board-like serving trays for the coffee, and I thought it would be lovelier if the cupcakes joined the drink on the platter.

I was just surprised that the cakes were pretty expensive. I remember the cakes, like the blueberry cheesecake, at Php 290. I would have liked to try it, but would I want to order something at that price if I could get a sandwich instead? I thought it wasn't practical, I could always get my cake fix elsewhere. I would definitely go back though should I am around the area for a treat. I just hope they have free Wi-fi. Free wi-fi in commercial establishments should be a law :-D

But You Didn't Have to Cut Me Off

... IDIOT.

Nah, not necessarily crazy about that Gotye tune (it's not bad, it's just FINE), but I keep thinking of this meme every time I encounter douchebags on the road. Which is, in this fine, fine city of Metro Manila, EVERY TIME.

Discipline on the road and that typical road courtesy are SO DAMN HARD to find in Metro Manila. Why? Because many drivers here are not properly trained. We let people drive as long as they can manage to make a vehicle to run. That's it. You can buy your license from a fixer lurking around the Land Transportation Office, and I haven't heard of an actual drive test ANYWHERE in the Philippines. There you go.

I almost had an accident because I was going straight to cross the intersection and I was on the left lane, and then suddenly this guy on a motorbike, out of nowhere, takes a LEFT. What an idiot, if I ran him over, will it be my fault? Many drivers do not use their blinkers properly and ALMOST ALL PUV drivers are inconsiderate when it comes to loading and unloading people. It seems like they only switch lanes WHEN THEY FEEL LIKE IT and they do not care if there is a long line of vehicles behind them as long as they get to wait for potential passengers. Unbelievable.

Frankly, I am just pissed that we have morons driving on the road. I hope they can be a moron somewhere else, not where lives are at stake. What happened to this proposed (?) law where PUV drivers will be given a proper salary so they do not have to zigzag through the traffic just so they can get the first dibs on the chance of having passengers because they earn according to quota? I thought that was supposed to be implemented this May. And it was supposed to be MANDATORY. How come it seems nothing has changed?

As usual, in this country, I won't be surprised if it is all forgotten or it is shelved because the politicians have already declared a cause for votes but didn't really do anything about it. Again, we are sufferers of national ADHD.

The Rebel Circus on Jam 883 --- rebels to go?

Speaking of ATTENTION... my sister and I arrived at work today as Scotty and Sasha of Jam 883 were wrapping up their morning show The Rebel Circus (sans Show Suzuki). The spiel went as I turned off the engine and we were about to get out of the car when suddenly they mentioned about leaving by end of June.

Are Scotty and Sasha Leaving Jam 883?

We were kinda astounded. My sister and I looked at each other and thought, WHY? WHERE ARE THEY GOING? Why why why? Are they getting married? Are they leaving the country? Is Sasha --- OOOH --- pregnant? Is Scotty --- GASP --- deported?

Do these guys have any idea we are loving them now after Hillary left the Scotty and Hillary whats-that-morning-show-called? And that they're the only morning radio show we like to listen to?

But anyway, we had to get out of the car and pay this nice parking manong in yellow for a day's worth of occupying space in San Antonio Village in Makati.

Life goes on. As usual.