I am such a huge fan of Starbucks’s Oreo Cheesecake. It’s my favorite among all their cakes.

Things have changed now, now that they just introduced their Christmas offerings. I tried a couple of their new cakes and pastries and so far, nothing beats their cookie dough cheesecake. Although the slice is small, every bite is worth it. It’s not overly sweet, so eating more than a slice is very possible.

It’s just so good I want to have it every single day. If it was included in their planner rewards card, I’d have a couple of planners by now.

Photo taken using a Nokia N8

My weekends and holidays are now spent watching movies, since on regular days, I don’t really have the time to watch them, especially because the people at home are busy supporting shows like “Ilumina” and “Beauty Queen.”

Last weekend, I watched “Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World,” which is awesome (it’s so easy to fall in love with the characters and the visuals), but not as awesome as “The Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” It is so awesome I think it is my favorite movie of the year. The characters are stereotypical (therefore entertaining and relatable) and the story is so-so, but several scenes are just so LOLers I found myself literally laughing out loud. It’s so good I think I need to watch it every week.

Awhile ago, I popped in “Leap Year,” starring the Avril Lavigne-looking Amy Adams and the adorable-looking Matthew Goode. It’s such a bad movie. The first half was so dragging. The Irish accent is confusing. And the plot and ending, of course, are so predictable. The only saving glory is Matthew Goode. He saves the film every time he is in the frame.

I also “watched” “Engkwentro.” The reason for the quotation marks enclosing watched is because I just listened to it while typing my articles. I am not sure if it’s just my copy, but it was really dark. Of course, it can be just the style, but, I don’t know, it just gave me a headache, especially because it’s like watching “The Blair Witch Project” all over again.

I still have a whole stack waiting to be watched, but there are articles to write and a slice of cookie dough cheesecake to appreciate so I don’t know. Impatiently waiting to be popped inside the player are “The Social Network,” “I Love You Too,” “Charlie St. Cloud,” “Kinatay,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “ Bangkok haunted 3,” “Death at a Funeral,” and “Repo men,” starring Jude Law!

Can’t wait for the next weekend/holiday!

Darylle (S Magazine EA), Sophie (Associate Publisher), and I dropped by the “Juicy” set yesterday to watch the taping of a couple of their episodes—and we even got to be part of the audience. Super LOLers.

I think that one of the reasons why the show is such a hit is because of the rapport of all five hosts: Cristy Fermin, Mo Twister, Alex Gonzaga, IC Mendoza, and Shalala. They are very different from one another, but when they start doing the show (which is basically just chitchatting as if they’re in the living room), it’s obvious how they complement one another. The result is a lively exchange of comments and opinions, often punctuated with giggles and LOLs, which makes great TV.

I’ve already met and worked with most of the hosts in the past. Mo twister was the host of a Durex event that I covered for the paper and I came up to him afterwards to ask for his number. At the “Juicy” taping, I didn’t get to approach him, but I saw him glancing at me a couple of times, maybe recognizing me from that condom event.

Shalala, who we featured in the magazine, also didn’t recognize me, and he admitted that it was because of my new hairstyle, which he said looks good on me (wow ha, flattered LOLers). We didn’t get to talk a lot but he was able to share some bits about one of my favorite people on earth, German Moreno.

IC I was able to meet at the “Eclipse” premiere, and he thankfully recognized me. I showed him the latest issue of S, where his photo (occupying half a page) is included in the “So Normal!” section. He joked, “I waited so long for this!” adding that in the past, the most he’d get was around 1/16 of the page, and that it was already for his birthday. We talked some more (I tried to guess one of his blind items) until it was time to go on air.

Alex, on the other hand, is someone I’ve never met. I love her to bits so while it was a little weird, I’m glad that when she got down from the stage, she approached me and said “Hello po,” with a peck on the cheek—even if there wasn’t anyone around who introduced us to each other.

It was also the first time I met Cristy Fermin, or Inay Cristy as a lot of people from the industry would call her, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that she’s such a nice person. Not only was she genuinely interested to get to know us (she asked about the magazine, and even guessed where my family’s from), she also made sure the staff was taking care of us (she asked us how we were doing every time we’d cross paths, and she asked the staff to bring us food, for example).

It was definitely a fun experience and I’d love to visit them again.

Afterwards, before going back to the office for a couple of meetings, we had lunch at Johnny Rockets. Darylle and I have never eaten there, but the place is familiar to us because we accommodated their press release (which came from one of our AE’s. the moment we stepped inside the diner-themed restaurant, I knew our lunch would turn out memorable. Not only was the aircon perfect (it was humid outside), the waiters and waitresses also welcomed us with a dance number!

The place looks amazing. Everything’s mostly in white, and the vintage posters looked really cool.

The food was great also. While not as affordable as Burger King, the selection is wide, especially the milkshakes (I promise to try the cherry and the apple pie flavors next time). darylle was on a diet so she opted for a salad. Sophie got an egg salad sandwich, which was huge. So she had the other half taken out. I got a chili dog. Great thing is that you can eat unlimited fries (and there’s a bottle of Heinz tomato ketchup on every table too). Downer was that their sodas weren’t available that day, so Sophie didn’t get to taste the rootbeer float that she was craving for.

What we enjoyed most about our Johnny Rockets meal was the little jukebox present on every table. Despite having a limited number of songs—just a hundred or so—the choices are amazing. A song costs just a peso so Sophie and I had a great time playing several songs, including “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” “Stop in the Name of Love,” and “Last Dance.” We didn’t have enough time, but I really wanted to play “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You.” Such a nice song that makes me think of my crush. LOLers!

We had some coffee afterwards. I actually had a green tea drink that tasted like mango. The fun part was when Sophie whipped out her laptop and forced us to play Family Feud, which we immensely enjoyed. It’s so addicting. Admittedly though, I suck at it.

And then it was time to go back to the office.

There’s no denying that it’s that time of the year already!

First, the Christmas breeze is now a nightly staple, making sleep extra enjoyable.

Second, several establishments have not just put up Christmas décor, they have started to play Christmas songs already too.

Third, there are all these sales happening everywhere, encouraging everyone to start Christmas shopping this early, which is not really that early, if you ask me.

Fourth, the traffic is more horrible than ever.

We’re in full Christmas mode at home too. My dad has put up our tree and the wreaths and garlands, plus he’s been playing Christmas music (very loudly) on a daily basis. He has even asked my sister to download new yuletide songs. I wonder if he’d appreciate songs from Mariah Carey’s new Christmas album.

As for me, I’ve started to wrap gifts already, which I love to do.

Buying giftwrapper is always fun for me. I never buy the usual Christmas-themed wrappers though. I tend to go for the cheaper, plainer alternatives. One time, I used kraft paper. Another time, I used colored kraft paper. This year, I am using cartolina.

I am going for a white Christmas feel so I looked for blue cartolinas; apart from the plain ones, I also found this cool almost-Tiffany blue shade. The tags are plain white; they are my old calling cards. I haven’t added accents yet, but I’m thinking of silver ribbon, white dots or white snowflake cutouts.

I did my Christmas shopping early this year. I am actually done already (thank you, thank you) so all I have to do is wrap the items. I think I’ll be able to finish wrapping all my gifts mid-November the latest, so that would leave me with nothing else to do.

My sister bought some kutsinta last long weekend and I just realized that it’s been so long ever since I last had one.

The next day, she bought some fishballs from manong fishballs and I realized that it’s been forever since I last had one.

They were both good.

I am a huge chocolate lover and I am always on the lookout for new choco goodness, which means that every time I go to the supermarket, I make sure I get new chocolates and try them out at home.

I recently discovered Goya’s Take-it, which is their version of KitKat. Amazingly, it almost takes like the real thing, but when I realized that they almost cost the same, I figured, might as well buy the real thing, right?

It’s weird that Delfi (which is connected to Goya) also has their own Take-it out in the market, but instead of two fingers, it’s just one. Of course, it’s in red packaging too, just like KitKat.

Delfi has another Take-it product, a milk chocolate biscuit. It was love at first bite for me. The chocolate is so good; better than the chocolate used in the other Take-its, and the biscuit just melts in your mouth. Together, they are perfect. It’s so good I have consumed an insane number of bars. It’s actually like Twix but without the caramel.

It has become my go-to food for whatever, whenever: when I am hungry and I am lazy to get food downstairs; when I am watching “The Vampire Diaries”; when there’s nothing to do.

I admit I am addicted to it. I hope they don’t phase out the product or something because that will really crush my heart.

My tita My was born on October 31, my tita Pinky November 1, and my tita Tata November 2.

LOLers, right?

November 1 this year falls on a Monday so it was once again a non-working holiday. My plan was to spend quality time with Sadako at home since we never get to spend a lot of time together. In the morning, before I go to work, she’s wide awake but I am busy preparing for work; at night, she’s deep in slumber when I arrive and I seriously have to already sleep when she wakes up.

Plans suddenly changed when my tito Carlo—tita Pinky’s hubby—called me to attend a surprise party he’s throwing for her. Cool, I thought. I’d still get to spend quality time with my daughter, free food pa.

And so we dashed off to Little Quiapo in Parañaque, which was one of the few restaurants open that day. We waited a while and when tita Pinky opened the door, it was perfectly just like a movie scene. Face of surprise, some tears, applause, and my favorite, food being served!

What was on the table? Pansit bihon, kare-kare, crispy pata, lumpiang shanghai, fried chicken, pinakbet. I skipped the pansit, lumpia, and crispy pata, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t eat a lot. As usual, I stuffed my self silly, especially with the kare-kare, since the bagoong was so good. you know that it’s really the bagoong that makes kare-kare!

Afterwards, we discovered that the malls were open already so we killed time there, meaning we overspent buying food and ate some more (KFC Chili Lime!).

And then we went home, tired, full, but fulfilled.

My aunt, tita My, is so lucky because she was born on October 31. I’d love to be born on the same day—imagine having a birthday party and Halloween party in one!

We used to live with her and her family, and we left a couple of months before Honeybun popped, since we needed our own place; a bigger one, since someone was about to join us.

After we left, which was almost over a year ago, we rarely got to visit or see her and the kids, who we were very close with (we introduced Danielle and Demon-ique to Lady Gaga and Heidi Montag).

And so last October 31, we made sure we dropped by to celebrate her birthday.

The kids—who are all so big now—were so excited to see Sadako and play with her. We didn’t have a lot of time together; it was all a blur: pacifying Sadako (who was restless because of the new environment and the new faces), catching up with the grown-ups, exchanging updates with the kids, and eating, of course.

We had chicken from KFC (they should have ordered Chili Lime though), pizza, pork barbecue, cake, and ice cream. As expected, I stuffed myself silly. (That long weekend, by the way, was the bomb. It was full of food and overeating.)

But going back to the kids, it was really great seeing them again. Danielle looks the same but had a lot of updates; Demon-ique looks more modelish now, having grown taller and thinner; and JB looked like he had a growth spurt—he’s 3 years old, but he looks like 6!

When it was time to go home, Danielle and the kids were sad. Time flew by, and as much as we wanted to stay, we needed to rush home to catch the gate. Sadako too was fidgety and sleepy already.

With how busy we are, I know that it’s gonna take a while before we get to see them again, but I hope we get to be with them again very, very soon. And hopefully, there’d be food—a lot of food.

Last week, I thanked the heavens for Facebook.

I logged in and saw that someone wanted to add me. when I clicked on the friend requests icon, I discovered that it was Tutay, my ex-maid who I last saw maybe five years or so ago (before she went back to the province and then never returned). We still texted regularly when she decided to stay in Quezon province, but then we eventually lost touch.

Tutay is 20 years old now and yes, she has a Facebook account.

Naturally, I wanted to see her again, so I asked her to meet me at the mall so I can fetch her. I wanted her to sleep over at our new house because I was sure she’d have lots of news, gossip, and updates for us.

Tutay was late, but she I still recognized her when she arrived at the coffeeshop. How could I not when she was turning heads and attracting second, third, and fourth looks?

She’s a little taller now, a little heavier too, but still the same old scenestealer Tutay who I fell in love with the moment her grandmother brought her to us.

Tutay is now working for a convenience store in Cavite, but before that, she did a mix of interesting jobs: cooking for a catering service, taking care of both an infant and an old lady, working with coconuts in a factory, sewing jeans, selling at the wet market.

And now she’s hinting that she wants to work for us again.

I’d love to have her around again. An extra hand is always welcome, but the money that will go to her can go to something else, something I’ve been wanting for a while now. Besides, we still can manage; just Honeybun and I.

Yesterday night, we made sure we did some catching up. She updated us on all the other maids (her kasabayans) we had. She shared stories about her several (and I mean SEVERAL) boyfriends (both past and present). She talked about her friends, both good and bad influences.

We had a lot of fun too. We watched a horror flick, abused our Magic Sing, and pigged out on burgers, donuts and ice cream. Of course, we had a photo shoot too, just like before. But now it’s a little different. I’m using a digital camera now. We have make-up now. And she’s more comfy in front of the lens.

It was also her first time to see Sadako, who bawled when she saw Tutay. And that’s a great sign! Before long, they were already besties, which is yet another great sign.

Tutay also gave me a full-body massage yesternight and basing on her kneading skills alone, it looks like we’re welcoming her back soon.

One of the greatest things about real friends is that you don’t have to see them often or regularly (although both of you would want to, of course); and when you actually do, it’s always a blast, as if you were just together some hours ago.

I was reminded of this when I met up with Mae yesterday. After a year or so, we finally got to see each other again, and even if it was just for a couple of hours (my fault) and even if it was just over pastries and drinks at Starbucks, it was undeniably fun and fulfilling.

We started updating each other on common friends and acquaintances we’ve recently seen or heard from, and then we talked about ourselves (love life, career, family, friend, goals). Of course, laughter and sex stories found their way somewhere there too, even if there was a little girl on the next table.

The couple of hours we spent together weren’t enough so we’re definitely seeing each other again: we’re watching “Little Women” next month, plus “Burlesque” when it’s showing, maybe this December.

Can’t wait.