are they really Big Better Burgers?

yes, i'm a burger guy. from roadside ten peso burgers to big towering signature burgers of different establishments. i've been seeing BBB outlets lately and wanted to check if they really are "better" burgers.
i ordered their basic one third pounder with cheese. the packaging was good, a simple wrap with a BBB sticker but though bigger than a burger mcdo, or yum burger, i was underwhelmed when i saw it. as a patron of big macs, champs, whoppers, and other big burgers, i was expecting "bigger" or at least "big" as per my burger vocabulary.

rise

it was really unfortunate that the hostage crisis last august 2010 happened on PNoy's watch. it was during a time when confidence in the philippines was being restored through the show of a clean and transparent government. suddenly, the philippines was once again on world headlines but for the wrong reasons. the bad rep that the philippines got was only softened a bit by our miss universe bet and our world renowned singers and boxers.

trash talk

manila is a filthy place whether we admit it or not. just look around and you'll see trash sitting on the sidewalk, be it a small cigarette butt or a plastic bag  full of garbage dismantled by a dog or a scavenger. why is it that manila as one of the cleanest city in the world would elicit laughter for the mere absurdity of the idea?

from my earlier post public toilets many filipinos are dirty people, peeing on walls. i pointed out that part of the problem is the scarcity of toilets. i believe the same goes for trash. i've learned not to be part of the problem and hold on to my trash until i can find a trashcan. there will be times that i would go home, check my pockets and there would still be candy wrappers inside. where are the trashcans? 

public toilets

i was at d. jose station of the lrt waiting for the train. the trains were late as usual and when they came, they're packed. i stood there looking at my watch constantly. i was already half an hour late, i need to get on the next train. i was ready to force myself in, elbows in the bow-out position, when i suddenly felt a rumble inside my tummy.

i walked away from the train and towards the guard on duty. i asked where the toilets are and he just answered me with a poker-faced "wala eh." i asked myself if i could just wait it out but with 7 stations left, i knew i wont make it. good thing there was a jollibee nearby that joyfully accomodated my duties.

DEAL or NO DEAL?

Let's save together suggests one group buying site while another boasts We got a Deal. but do we really save on deals? not always.

group buying has been in existence since 2000 but really took off around 2009. Disclaimer: Wikipedia reference. it's a great concept since buying wholesale really does give you a much better price. it's a win-win situation for both seller and buyer. the seller will most likely reach his quota while the seller would not have to reach deep down his pocket to buy an item he likes. it also gives small businesses a chance to be known and gives consumers a chance to try such businesses at minimal cost.

Budget Tour to Kuala Lumpur Part 2

It was day 2 of our KL trip but we still woke up late. Just like old times. Our itinerary pointed to Genting Highlands but as luck would have it, all Go Genting package trips were sold out. It's best you buy tickets at least a day before to ensure your trip. Now we were stuck in KL Sentral and nowhere to go. There are a lot of other places to see in Malaysia but my girlfriend really expected some Theme Park atmosphere and experience the thrill of the rides. Then I remembered a saw an advertisement of Sunway Lagoon on the train while we were on our way to Batu Caves the previous day.

After a few consultations from the info desk at KL Sentral, we were off to Sunway Lagoon. We rode the train (Php24) all the way to the suburbs not really knowing where we are going . It was a great experience, me being a train fanatic. We really weren't sure of our stop but we just followed some other foreigners in the train and then we suddenly heard a guy shouting "Sunway!" Good move. He pointed us to a shabby non-airconditioned bus sitting under the sun. Fare to Sunway Lagoon was 1RM or roughly Php15. We got off at a huge pyramid and a giant lion, landmarks of the Sunway Pyramid shopping complex.

the king of blank CDs and everything else

there used to be a time when pirated cd's didn't have the tag "pirated." compilation cd's were presumed original as they were still expensive and some even have great covers. remember cruisin' and contagion? after a while, prices started to go down as more and more people got their own cd writers but only a few sell blank cd's. enter CD-R King.

Friday the 14th Misadventure

it was friday the 14th and it's our 19th 14 together. a dinner and movie date seems just about right for the occasion. we tried the kansi at inasal at iba pa and it was not bad at all. my girlfriend enjoyed the soup and ranked it third next to the one we had at boracay and another at taverna luna. needless to say she needed another cup of rice. the chicken was just your typical inasal chicken. the paa and pecho tastes like the ones served on bacolod chicken inasal or mang inasal less the chicken oil.

Budget Tour to Kuala Lumpur Part 1

Many of my friends have been to Kuala Lumpur and their experiences were generally bland. For them, it was just like being in the Philipines with the Twin Towers. That didn't stop me from exploring Malaysia's capital. Their stories gave me lowered expectations from the city and that just made me appreciate everything more about Malaysia which they say is Truly Asia.

I was with my girlfriend and her friend tagged along. It was her first trip outside the Philippines and my girlfriend and I were more than willing to give her a great time. We booked a promo fare from Cebupacific which only amounted to Php2,675.05 per person round trip. Booking was made October 2010 for travel on March 2011. (Again, this was a time before fuel surcharges were reintroduced).

Running Total: Airfare + Travel Tax (Php1,620) + Terminal Fee (Php750) = Php5,045.05

Late Night is my CNN

for the better part of my college years, i would sleep not sooner than 1am since i have to wait for that leno guy finish his old unfunny jokes till midnight. then conan comes in, saves the day and then a quick "bye everybody bye" would put me to sleep. i've been a conan fan since way way back. and after waiting for like 5 years for him to take over the tonight show, i was hyped. it's a well deserved honour for conan plus i get to sleep an hour earlier.

after waiting a few months, there it was. it's no longer late night with conan o'brien, it's the tonight show with conan o'brien. but nothing changed in philippine cable schedules, it was the same old shit. leno and the bald guy at 11, conan and max at 12. what the f*** is going on?

then came the second coming of the late night wars. leno was such an ass that he took back something he gave back years back. then bearded conan was gone. the only consolation was that jimmy fallon was holding his own when he took over late night. not to mention the roots which is awesome.

conan then got a new gig at tbs but my thirst for late night was gone. from time to time i would come home late and catch my sister watching conan or jimmy. i wouldn't get their jokes. i can't understand what they were talking about. and i came with a realization. late night was my cnn.

it was from conan that i get news. his monologues would be recent events worthy of jokes. or not. it's funny just the same. but then when i won't get the joke, i would look it up just to get in on the joke. so recently i downloaded a bunch of conan and jimmy fallon shows to catch up and my daily commute was no longer excruciating. i also got to know a few stuff that wouldn't normally be part of your 24 oras or tv patrol. i found out that there was this old lady who's booby popped out at dancing with the stars, that arnold schwarzenegger commissioned 3 statues of him to be built in california, and that in a recent study obese people now outnumber hungry people, to which the obese people said "hey, we're hungry too!"

now that's news i enjoyed!

Tarsier-sized Expenses for Your Bohol Trip

I was on the front seat of a kia picanto with my girlfriend and my other girl friends at the back. we were chatting with our driver who hails from the states and married a filipina. He asked us how much was our airfare and i think he almost fainted when he found out.

Our airfare totaled Php1,420.16 for the four of us. It was booked February for travel on July. That's Php355.04 each person, Php200 less if we travel without checked baggage. It takes a lot of patience and a bit of luck to catch such promo fares. (As of April 2011, all bookings are now have fuel surcharges, Php200 one-way for local travel and around Php500 one-way for international travel. Cebupacific also introduced Lite Fares, basically removing checked in baggage, previously at Php100, now at a minimum of Php150 for local, and Php350 for international).