A Different Approach to Fasting

Got an e-mail from Ate Carrie with this attachment. I loved the message, so I'm posting it here. It's something we can apply in our daily lives.

An Amazing Phone Conversation

Ok, ok. So it was not really a life-altering kind of amazing conversation. Rather, it was a phone conversation I had with the clunks - Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez. They're one of the two Philippine teams that participated in the second season of the Amazing Race Asia. So I felt I needed to somehow use the word amazing. ;)

Thanks a bunch to Lyza (I owe you one!) for calling, and to Summers for just passing on the phone to Marc without any warning! Hehe.

It was fun talking to them! I was expecting just a brief, hi-hello-bye kind of conversation. Afterall, what do you talk about with someone you've never met? But they were really friendly and accomodating that I ended up talking to them for a few minutes. I'm not very good at small talk, but felt at ease talking to them immediately (especially with Rovilson who was quick to crack jokes) -- I guess as hosts, they're used to engaging people into polite conversation. =)

It was a kilig moment for me... showbiz na ko! Hahahaha! =P

(Edited 14 March 2008 to include some excerpts and pic)

I don't really remember much of my conversation with Marc. A lot were just small talk, but the way we started our conversation was a bit embarrassing for me.

Marc: Hi! Who's this?
Me: This is Ivy. Who's this? (Hahaha, I wasn't really expecting Summers to pass the phone on to Marc... was actually thinking she was going to ask someone there to pretend to be Marc and talk to me.)
Marc: Umm, this is Marc. (Summers said Marc had a confused look on his face while he said this. He's probably wondering why I'm asking who he is when Summers told him someone wants to talk to him!)
Me: Oh, she really passed the phone on to you. I thought she was just pulling my leg when she said that. (O ha, bawi ako kunyari!)
Marc: Yup, she really did!
...
After a couple of minutes, we said bye and then this exchange:

Marc: Do you also want to talk to Bad Boy?
Me: Bad Boy? Is that Rovilson's nickname?
Marc: (Laughs) It is now!
...
Now my conversation with Rovilson, I remember a bit more clearly:

Me: Are you eating? (He seemed like he was chewing on something so I had to ask. Hehe)
Rov: Yes, we're having dinner. So come on over and join us!
Me: Sure, just send me a plane ticket and I'll be there!
Rov: (Laughs) Umm, why don't I just order food for you and send it over, how about that?
Me: Ok, that works too!
...
Me: You should join the Amazing Race US version.
Rov: I know, I want to.
Me: You're eligible, right?
Rov: Yes, yes I am. But Marc isn't so we have to figure out a way to do that. I know, why don't you marry Marc so he can apply for a US citizenship and then we can race?
Me: SURE! (err, little lie here... that's not exactly what I said to Rovilson. I said something quite embarrasing which I'm taking to the grave with me! =P)
...

Chocolate By the Bald Man

I've been meaning to go to Max Brenner for a while now (afterall, it's all about chocolate -- who wouldn't want to go to a place like that? =P). So when Wena suggested that place for a Saturday brunch, I readily agreed! =)

As soon as you enter the café, you'd be hit with the aroma of chocolate. And the entire room had a wannabe-Willy-Wonka-Chocolate-Factory feel to it. We were lucky that when we got there we were given a table immediately, as a few minutes later the crowd came pouring in and we saw a long line of people waiting to be seated.

Max Brenner aims to be a dessert place. So I didn't really have high expectations about the entrées. But we were all pleasantly surprised with our food. I had the Chicken Paella and it was Y-U-M-M-Y! It had generous portions of sausages in it too. But uh-oh, it was only after I got home did I realize I've just eaten pork... oops, there goes my no-red-meat-for-Lent resolution!

It was a little difficult to order dessert as there were a lot of interesting choices. We decided on the Tutti-Frutti Waffles and Max's Three Layer Chocolate Concoction with Toffee Bananas (whew, that's a mouthful!). I wanted to try one of the crepes too, but we had too much food already. But no regrets, the desserts we ordered were both really good! Our tummies were definitely happy! =)

The service is not the fastest, but the staff were very friendly. But then again, with Baby Sam among us, it would be hard for anyone to stop by our table and not smile when they see my cutie inaanak! ;)