Big Guys Get Mugged Too!

It's August again, reminds me of a bad incident that happened last year...

Walking along the Katipunan road to go home after midnight, I was surprised that a guy walked past me. The weird thing was he’s only a few inches away from me. As I approached the corner, he turned back and pointed at me a balisong! At the sight of that I panicked as another guy approached me from behind. I was mumbling “No, no, no, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, why, why, why!” as they were taking my bag and my phone. I was saying, “Can I just take my sim? Can I just take my sim?” while I was crying (with no tears). It seemed the end of the world for me. I have nothing if I lose my bag. As they were abandoning me, I cried more and at that moment I thought they took pity on me. They returned my bag and my phone and just asked for my money. I readily obliged and gave them my coin purse, which has about less than a hundred bucks, and said “This is all I have.” They were about in their twenties, one guy apologized “Pasensya na ha, may sakit kase anak ko eh...” Still crying, I replied “It’s ok... the money... I understand... I’ll pray for you!

I ran immediately and decided to sleep at a friend’s house. That incident happened last August 1, at about 2 o’clock on the morning. What a nice welcome for the Anniversary Month of UP Kalilayan! I couldn’t imagine losing that bag because all of my files are there. “Panu na ang homecoming pag kinuha nila bag ko?” I was really thinking of the anniversary month. I can’t contact the alumni if I don’t have a phone. I can’t lose the alumni directory. But after that, I was ok and my life went on like nothing happened. It’s actually a terrifying experience to be mugged. I am very grateful to God for helping me during that experience.

Fiwd

Did you know that I cooked for my family last Pahiyas Festival? My father wasn’t around so I was the one who cooked for the holiday. Actually, I also cooked for Noche Buena and Media Noche last Christmas vacation. I have also cooked for family picnics, and during meals.

I love cooking. My father is a great cook. Although he didn’t directly teach me how to cook, I always observe him while he was cooking. I had my own experiments in cooking. I like watching cooking shows and reading cookbooks. That’s how I learned to cook.

I don’t use measuring cups or spoons while cooking. I imitate the chefs on TV and use my instinct to measure my ingredients. I think that it’s a mark of a true chef. Haha.

Last Pahiyas, I cooked beef (carabao) caldereta, chicken ala king, and chopsuey. These dishes are not easy to make. I used carabao meat in cooking caldereta. One thing I hate about carabao meat is that it’s so tough to cook. It takes hours before it becomes tender. Our chicken ala king was so plain so I added mushrooms. The chopsuey is also plain-looking because we have limited ingredients.

I cooked spaghetti sauce last Christmas. I have also prepared carbonara for my family, and the usual pancit, which my mother always asks me to cook, when I’m home. My usual mistake is that I put too much salt, soy sauce, or fish sauce that’s why it comes out salty. Sometimes, my siblings even avoided eating food that I cooked because they knew it was salty. But I’m changing that and I am now very cautious in using salt, soy sauce and fish sauce.

There are lots of new things to try with cooking. I have always wanted to cook mouth-watering dishes; those types that are found in 5-star restaurants. Someday, I want to have my own kitchen. I have always wanted to have an oven, because with an oven, I can do everything with it. I can bake, roast, broil, everything!

My favorite chef is Rachael Ray, she’s the best! I really like her show 30-Minute Meals. It’s practical plus it’s easy to cook. I haven’t tried any of her dishes because I always forget them. Same with cookbooks, I have read a dozen of cookbooks but I can’t remember any single recipe. Well, there are lots of times in the future to cook all those recipes.

I also like watching Iron Chef. It’s fascinating how they can come up with five different delicious dishes in just one hour, and yet it always looks elegant. When I watch the show, I would imagine that I’m in the kitchen stadium and I would think hard on what dishes I will make.

I would like to enroll in a culinary school but it’s so expensive. There are lots of chefs out there and it’s hard to be competitive because everyone seems good.

I suppose I’d just consider cooking as a hobby. Someday, I want to put up our own restaurant. I have a concept and I’ll wait to say it to my father so we can plan for it together.