The Mid-Autumn Festival

The sudden coldness of my daily autumn life rendered me as a hibernating squirrel staying in my room all day long every day except Tuesdays and Wednesdays when I need to be in school. I just spend each day surfing the net, listening to online Philippine radio or watching streaming videos of Philippine TV programs, aside from my perpetual task of preparing for my seminar and reading literatures for my thesis.

Yet today was different. My Japanese friend, Abe-san, called me and asked me if I want to go with him in Sendai to see the full moon. In traditional Japan, people used to celebrate full moon viewing (cf. cherry blossom viewing). They have on the calendar, one year for each year, when the moon is on its fullest, brightest and biggest possible view for the whole year. Having just slacking around for a number of days already, I agreed to go.

It was so cold in Sendaitoo. I made the most stupid mistake of wearing just a thin polo shirt under a windbreaker. I felt so cold especially during the times that cold wind blew towards us.

Abe-san had this idea of going near the sea to catch the moon during its moonrise. According to him, the nearer the moon from the horizon, the bigger we can see it. We took a train from Sendai and dropped of at Tagajo Station, which is one of the many stations of the Senseki line overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

It seemed that Abe-san didn’t know the way to the sea as well. I told him not to leave me as I wouldn’t be able to go back. After around half an hour walking, we reached an area where all we could see were warehouses and we realized that we were nearing the port.

While walking he asked me if we also celebrate full moon viewing in the Philippines. I said not really but I recalled my childhood memories with my siblings whenever the moon was full, we go outside and do some singing and dancing. We even had a name for our unique event-“Night Moon”. (Justified as we can sometimes see the moon during daytime.. especially in the morning.)



We reached Sendai port just in time as the moon was rising and showing its face after being covered by thick clouds. I felt this sudden closeness to nature upon seeing the vast ocean. Should I be alone at that time, I would not hesitate spending a few more moments by the sea. Anyway, the moon was so beautiful and it was so bright. I could even see its dark spots which are the moon’s crater. Unfortunately, I don’t have a telescope to look at it closely. But I am sure many amateur astronomers out there would indulge in viewing the lunar surface.

It was then time to go back but it was already dark and Abe-san seemed to forget the way that we took to reach the port. We just relied on both of our instincts and finally, were able to reach the station after several times of feeling that we’ve lost our way.

I realized another mistake that I did for today. I shouldn’t have worn leather shoes. Should I’ve been informed that we’re about to walk that far, I would have had my rubber shoes instead. My feet felt blistered already on our way home.

On the bus, Abe-san called my attention many times to look through the window for the moon. At one instance, the moon was just there on top of us, without any obstructing cloud. The view was enchanting. I caught myself just staring at it, without thinking about any other things. Indeed, one of the best things in life is enjoying it like you don’t have anything else in mind. Both the experiences of enjoying the full moon and walking by the sea made me felt so right.

To ask or no to ask

I want to share this very informative article. It's about food terms commonly seen in restaurant menus. I recall that before I had breakfast with a cono friend in a hotel and my friend asked the waiter, "What do you mean by 'a la carte'?"

How I wish I'm just like Elsie... she got the best of both worlds!

Learning the language of food
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=51596

HIGH ON E(TIQUETTE)
By PATTY BETITA

Picture this: A guy, looking dapper in a black suit, and his date, a gorgeous woman in a sophisticated red dress, step into a fancy restaurant for a dinner date. They are ushered to the best table in the house complete with the most exquisite table appointments, and with a string quartet ready to serenade them.

Sounds like the perfect dinner date. But wait. What if you’re the man or the lady in this situation and the waiter gives you a menu of unfamiliar French or Italian-termed dishes?

Some restaurants have menus that carry English translations to foreign terms, but what do you do when there’s none?

Three things: Do not pretend to know what you don’t in the attempt to look smart and impress your date, because there is a greater chance of failing. Second, if there are terms on the menu that are not familiar to you, it is always wise to ask the waiter or Maitre d’ to guide you in making the right choice. Last, start getting acquainted with some of the common foreign culinary terms and their pronunciations. The Internet, as well as cookbooks, will provide you with enough reference.

Below are some commonly used French and Italian terms that you may encounter when going to a fancy restaurant.

French

Agneau—Lamb
Aubergine—Eggplant
Au Gratin—with cheese usually covered with crumbs and browned
Au jus—with natural (meat juice) gravy
Bearnaise—a sauce of butter and eggyolks flavored with tarragon, shallots, vinegar and chervil, used as sauce for steaks or salmon.
Bechamel—a well seasoned white sauce (ex. Lasagna, mousakka)
Bisque—a thick soup (ex. Lobster or tomato bisque)
Beouf—beef
Bouillabaisse—a thick soup made from various seafoods
Filet mignon—small steak usually circled with a slice of bacon
Flambe—in flames (food is cooked in flames and done in front of the guests table)
Foie Gras—finely chopped goose liver, used often as spread with appetizers
Fromage—cheese
Hors’ d’ oeuvres—appetizers
Canard—Duck
Champignons—mushroom
Consomme—clear soup
Crevettes—shrimps
Entrecote—rib steak
Escargot —snail
Moules—mussels
Poisson—fish and other fish dishes
Poulet—chicken
Potage—soup
Salade—salad
Patisserie—pastry
Ragout—stew
Potage d’ jour—soup of the day
Soufflé—a light airy dessert made of beaten egg white and mixed with a liquor.
Vischyssoise—a cream of potato and chives soup usually served cold

Italian

Agnello—Lamb
Melanzane—eggplant
Sugo di carne—with natural (meat juice) drippings
Con vino blanco—with white wine
Con vino rosso—with red wine
Manzo—beef
Caramella—candy
Gratinati—with cheese covered with crumbs and browned
Salsa bernese—a variation of hollandaise used for meat (steaks or prime rib)
Zouppa di pesce—thick seafood soup
Caffe latte—coffee with cream
Anitra—Duck
Funghi—mushroom
Bistecca di manzo—beef steak
Gamberi—shrimps
Costata di manzo—prime rib of beef
Entrecot di manzo—rib steak
Lumaca—snail
Formaggio—cheese
Gelato—ice cream
Jambon—ham
Torta—cake
Dolci—pastry
Pesce—fish
Pollo—chicken
Crema di zuppa—cream soup
Brasato—stew
Vellutata—a white sauce with cream and chicken stock

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Source: The Compleat Filipino: by Conchitina Sevilla—Bernardo

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For office and school lectures e-mail paching_betita@yahoo.com

I hate lemon scent

As compensation to my weak (yet many people say that they are beautiful) eyes, I feel like I had this over sensitive sense of smell. I still recall how I often complain having our office's air conditioner shutting off around six o'clock in the afternoon despite the fact that we still need to stay longer. It was just I always smell the odor of the wood furniture. I also refrained myself from entering our university's microfilm section as I easily get pissed off by the sour smell of the microfilms being preserved. Give more space and I can tell you more incidents of this nose that seemed to inherited Superman's krypton Ian powers but for the time being, let me give you another instance as I narrate what happened to me just recently.

Last Saturday, as I promised myself, I prepared pancit bihon to celebrate my youngest sister's birthday. Be it due to getting homesick or just being that thoughtful, ever since I came to Japan, I always celebrate mine and my family member's birthdays by cooking and sharing something to my friends here. This time, as I had no friend visiting me, I felt a bit lazy on cooking but not breaking my so called birthday tradition, I started cooking around 11:30 in the evening.

I enjoyed cooking this time and found myself eating my hearty meal around 2 o'clock in the morning. With tomorrow's church bazaar, I went to bed with the scent of the lemon that I used as a substitute for calamansi in the pancit still lingering inside my room.

As I woke up the following morning, I felt too much cold. Is my room thermometer fooling me by showing a reading of 24 degrees Celsius yet my body was shivering? I quickly pulled up my thickest blanket to cover me yet I felt another sick feeling after another.

My bowels seemed to be moving around my tummy. Had I too strong peristalsis to feel my insides slipping past themselves as I toss and turn on my bed? These said movements were accompanied by pain in my tummy that made me gain consciousness immediately as I open my eyes. I also felt dizzy and at the same time, nauseous. After a few minutes, I found myself in the restroom throwing up. I thought to myself, "Is this how morning sickness feel?" (Eventually, I crossed out the idea of me getting food poisoned as I felt better without taking any medicine or seeking any medical help.)

Returning to my bed, I adjusted the alarm to sound again after half an hour, giving me less time to prepare for the bazaar yet still enough time to do my morning rituals. I turned the room heater for the first time (this year) to combat my shivers (though it is still officially autumn!) I immediately fell asleep again and was woken up again by the alarm clock.

Today, I had the similar symptom of my almost revolving insides. Yet I felt so irritated by one particular entity that I found to be existing again-the scent of lemon. Now I pretty much understand that I got this what they call mental conditioning-for my case I associated my nausea to that same lemon scent. Whoa! Got to get rid of this lemon on the top of my table before I feel like I want to puke again. (-_-;)

My gosh, I already put the poor lemon out of my room yet I still smell traces of it in the air. Now I really feel like my insides will eject what's inside of them anytime soon. Now I feel something like a not-so-warm-anymore porridge (lugaw) and a calamansi on the side.

Yayks! I noticed another culprit-my already washed clothes in the laundry basket. Forgot that I put them in the basket right after getting them out of the washing machine. It has this distinctive scent from the laundry soap that claimed to be eliminating the need for fabric conditioners. On ordinary days, I love that same scent but now it's bringing the worst in me. Oh, well, got to hang these clothes outside now... May be I got a super sensitive nose though my mind sometimes delegates its discerning task to the good performers. It can't be helped so I think that's all for today. Till then.

To be or natto be

I came across this web log thesneeze.com on taboo foods. I found it so hilarious yet very detailed in describing each featured food per article. You may see the web log by clicking this link: http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/cat_steve_dont_eat_it.php I don't know who wrote the articles but I admire his being so witty. I think he is the handle "sneezesteve". Here is the article about natto (Japanese fermented beans): (Sorry not to credit you properly but I am pasting one of your articles here. m(-_-)m ) Natto I recently came across a container of fermented soybeans in the supermarket. I don't mean an old container of soybeans some stockboy forgot to toss. These are fermented-on-purpose soybeans from Japan. That's what Natto is. I remembered hearing about this stuff on Iron Chef one time when it was the secret ingredient. The judges in the show were commenting on what a great job the chefs had done to "supress the smell" of the natto. I'm no Iron Chef, but I've got a clever way to supress the smell. Don't put it in your fucking food. I might not win "Battle Natto," but I promise you my dinner won't smell like stank-ass soybeans. I found it slightly unsettling that the sealed styrofoam container had creepy little airholes in it. As if what was inside needed to breathe. I dared to lift the lid, which made me regret that I needed to breathe. The natto was coated in some kind of sick slime and had the complex yet playful aroma of a dumpster in July. Actually, the little pile inside looked kinda like baked beans. It also smelled kinda like baked beans. If they were baked in the filthy heat of Satan's asshole. This particular batch was made by a company in Japan called Shirakiku. I haven't been able to determine if Shirakiku is a food manufacturer, or just a store that sells gag gifts and practical jokes. It might be both. Not unlike Michael Jackson, these harmless soybeans had undergone some kind of hideous transformation. They were now a freakish version of their former selves. (Which, coincidentally, should also be kept away from your children.) The most disturbing aspect of this stuff is it seems to get "activated" when you stir it. What I mean by this is, (and I may actually weep, but...) the slimy coating on the beans develops into stringy, stretchy, marshmallow-like strands that will forever haunt my dreams. Basically, if you move it back and forth enough, you're left with a gross, sticky mess. (Hey, natto and I have at least one thing in common!) And now that I think about it, that's exactly what it looks like the pranksters back at Shirakiku did into my beans. You guuuys! I force-fed myself a big ol' spoonful, and found it to be slightly rancid and extremely bitter. Unfortunately, swallowing didn't help dissipate the flavor because the strings of bean jizz melted, coating my mouth and lips with a glistening sheen of sadness. The entire experience is difficult to describe, but if you can remember back to the very first time you made out with a hobo's ass, it's a lot like that. What I find most hilarious is that there is an expiration date on the package. What could they possibly expect to happen to the product on this date THAT HAS NOT ALREADY OCCURRED?!!! Also, nestled in this mound of compost was a li'l packet of mustard. In its place, I would strongly suggest a written apology. I do have one last theory about the date on the package. It may be an expiration date, but not for the beans. If you finish the container, that's the day you die.