Books tie me down as much as they force me to stand up and do something else. They mock me, they tell me how much I haven’t done yet…or will never be able to do. They tell me how much there is to write, how many graduate courses to take, art galleries and films to see, places to visit, people to talk with.

Books are a wonder. You just give three hundred pesos and a few hours of your time and you are rewarded with knowledge beyond your dreams. The book you’re holding, that was someone’s life and existence before it hit the bookshelves. The writer ate and inhaled and moved and lived in a world where the only people he was with was his characters. He may be riding the bus, standing in the grocery line, eating dinner, but he’s always with his characters. It doesn’t begin and end in front of the typewriter/computer/pen and paper.

Who says Monday mornings suck?
This is how most of my Mondays go:
Waking up after ten hours of sleep.
A long, long, luxurious bath.
A nice, big, guilt-free-but-really-is-sinful brunch.
Window shopping at Glorietta 4, then serious shopping at the tiangge in Glorietta 2.
Lunch slash dinner at The Java Man in Powerbooks Live! with an embarassingly huge pile of books I'm looking forward to read for free.

Now, Monday nights...
Monday nights are a different story. Calls are queueing big time, and since I was walking around the whole day, I'm dying to sleep come nighttime. And I don't know who's more irate, me or the customers...

There's this creepy shopping center in Muntinlupa that used to be a cemetery. I pass by in front of it ten times a week and I never thought of entering. So this afternoon I did. There were lots of people, but the place sounded strangely quiet and cold.
My mom said that some people who came from other countries to visit their dead relatives were surprised to see a mall instead of a cemetery.

Food, books, music, shopping. Power-walking by Ayala Avenue at 7 pm.  Someone to swap stories and opinions with, and another to laugh crazily with. A relaxing job where your only capital is the patience and the power of words. A promising bank account. A talent that never betrays me.

Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce

16 ounces of raw weight fettuccine noodles
5 tablespoons butter
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups chicken stock (canned chicken broth is fine)
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon corn starch mixed with water as needed
3/4 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
salt and ground black pepper to taste

In a large stock pot boil water and add the fettuccini noodles. Stirring constantly cook the pasta until al dente, remove the pasta from the boiling water and rinse with warm water to keep the pasta from sticking (this will work for several minutes while the sauce is prepared).

Prepare the alfredo sauce, in a large saute pan melt the whole butter adding the minced garlic. Saute the garlic until brown, add both the chicken stock and the heavy cream and reduce for several minutes. Next add the cornstarch and water mixture slowly while stirring until the sauce begins to thicken slightly. Add only as much of the cornstarch "slurry" as needed, note that the parmesan cheese will also act as a thickening agent.

Add the parmesan cheese, parsley and salt and pepper. Taste the alfredo sauce and adjust the seasonings as needed. Combine the fettuccini noodles and the alfredo sauce return to the flame and continue to cook for one minute. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

From Awesome Chef Recipes

 

Stuff I am going to buy, one way or the other:

1. Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

2. Sex and the City - The Complete First Season