Crazy/Beautiful

Last Saturday, my dad, brother & I went to Zong’s at the Fort strip to celebrate  Chinese New Year’s Eve. I wanted us to go to ZNH in Greenbelt but my dad was making comments about the distance so I suggested we go to Zong’s since I’ve friends who recommended the place. When we got there, we sat at their waiting area because the place was packed. I noticed 2 certifications from the Philippine Tatler rating the place as "Philippines’ Best Restaurants" for 2004 & 2005.

I kept an open mind as we waited for our table to be ready. We placed our order while waiting. I ordered for pork spare ribs with spicy salt (my favorite), mixed seafood with vermicelli, fried rice, black mushroom with abalone (my dad ordered that, not me) and suckling pig with jellyfish (dad’s choice also).

In Chinese restaurants, the owner or an assistant manager is usually around to usher customers and make sure good service is available. I was disappointed not so much with the food but with the service given to us. No tea was served as we sat down. I had to ask the waiter to serve us appetizers since we’ve waited for our table for quite some time and we were hungry already. They served us adobong peanuts after a while. When they served the spare ribs, they did not include the vinegar which is usally expected whenever this dish is ordered. The abalone was sour. Even with many food servers running around, nakakadalawa o tatlong beses pa kami ng tawag before someone gives us attention. It took them a long time to refill my brother’s bottomless iced tea glass or the house tea pot. I ordered green mango shake and the mango was not blended well so bits and pieces of green mango were stuck in my straw and I had to blow into my drink to shake the mango bits off. When we complained to the receptionist about the sour abalone dish, she did not get back to us. Then she insisted that they only cook fresh ingredients. A more experienced personnel would have quietly taken the dish away and offer to replace or delete it from the bill. She probably thought that our complaint might go away if she just ignored it. Later on, when we got our bill we just asked a waiter to cancel the abalone dish from our bill kasi di talaga makain. Dapat pala waiter na lang kinausap namin. Aksyon kaagad.

Otherwise, masarap naman yung food and the prices are very reasonable. For me naman, kung ganon lang yung service eh di we could have gone to Causeway Bay, China Star or Superbowl of China.

Sana they didn’t put those Best Restaurant plaques up if they can’t live up to the expectations. I don’t know why Zong’s even got into that category when they have ignored the most basic services expected in genuine Chinese restaurants.  This happens when there’s no manager around.

I tried hard to stop myself from whining after the meal because sinaway ako ng dad ko in Chinese. My dad’s right. Dapat nga I should be thankful because the Bible says we should be thankful in every circumstance. We’ve eaten our fill and masarap naman yung food. So I’m not boycotting Zong’s. I just wish I could get someone from Zong’s to read my feedback.

A few months ago, I was going through some issues regarding this person. Praise God we were able to settle things and as for me, i am at peace and I can finally move on with my life. But before this happened, I was going through so many things, a spectrum of emotions from anger, bitterness, humiliation, shame and fear in varying degrees. Anyway, this entry is not about my emotions…

Moving on…

One morning, I heard this song on the radio entitled "I Wish I Wasn’t". Let me share with you some of the lyrics…

When you touch me my heart melts
And everything you did wrong I forgive
So you play me and take advantage
Of the love
that I feel for you
Why you wanna hurt me so bad
I believed in you that’s why I’m so mad
Now I’m drowning in
disappointment
And it’s hard for me to even look at you

Drama ba? =) Parang ang haba ng intro…

The song spelled out how I was feeling about this person at the time and about myself. So I made a mental note to myself to research on the song and the artist which is what I usually do if a song catches my fancy. The name of the artist is Heather Headley and here’s what i found out about her.

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Source: Askmen.com*

why we like her?

Heather Headley is one cool songstress who refuses to fit the hip-hop mold and sing about sex, money and drugs. She’s different… and we like different.

why is she famous?

While she’s currently making waves on radio and sales charts with her first solo album, This Is Who I Am, it’s on Broadway that she is the most famous. She originated the role of feisty lioness Nala in the hit musical The Lion King before getting the lead in Elton John’s opus Aida.

overall rating	81

Everyone, their brother, sister, second cousin on their mother’s side, and mailman, wants to be an R&B superstar these days. But it’s very rare that someone actually has the necessary talent to pull it off. Heather Headley is such a rarity. She wanted to become a lawyer or newscaster, but thankfully fate stepped in and changed her course.

Following astonishing success on Broadway, thanks to shows like The Lion King and Aida, this exotic babe has launched a solo career with her album This Is Who I Am, which recounts her own personal journey. On this album, it was important for Headley that the music be positive and uplifting, rather than simply about sex and money, as with other R&B albums.

The religious beliefs that were instilled in her as a child in the Caribbean have taught her to remain grounded, no matter what. She truly enjoys every moment of her career, as her hits, "Sista Girl," "He Is," and "I Wish I Wasn’t" are a testament to. Oh, and staring at the album cover ain’t a bad way of spending an evening either.

personality & talent	85

As a departure from other popular stars of this era, Heather Headley is nice, kind, and willing to take a stand. Raised by parents who were Christian pastors, Heather believes that she doesn’t achieve anything on her own — God has blessed her with extraordinary gifts. Hey, we hear pious hotties can be quite a turn-on.

But is she talented? Oh yeah… Singing got her into Northwestern University, and helped her land an agent, three Broadway shows, and a solo recording deal, not to mention numerous awards. She has also worked with some of the best producers in the industry, like Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston), Dallas Austin (Toni Braxton, TLC), and Shep Crawford (Whitney Houston, Deborah Cox).

sexiness	81

Because her music doesn’t rely on sex to sell, Heather doesn’t have to flaunt herself like some other pop stars of her generation. Oddly enough, that’s exactly what makes her sexy. It’s like your second-grade math teacher; she did her best not to look sexy but that made her even more enticing in your eyes. It’s the same with Heather: the fact that she doesn’t try to sell her body makes her absolutely smoking!

accomplishments & fame	77

What we like most about Heather Headley is that her fame doesn’t rely on weekly appearances in tabloids and monthly magazine spreads. What she achieved she did on her own.

While attending Northwestern University, she appeared in off-campus productions like Dreamgirls and The World Goes Round, which served to get her an agent. Soon after, she was recruited as an understudy for Ragtime.

Disney eventually heard about her and called her in to audition for a part in a little show called The Lion King. Her agent managed to get her out of her Ragtime contract and, before long, she was part of one of the most successful Broadway shows of all time. Then, Elton John and Tim Rice created a new show for Disney called Aida.

This role garnered her a Best Actress Tony Award. Soon, RCA wanted to take advantage of her unequaled voice and commanding stage presence and she signed a solo recording contract with them. Her first album, This Is Who I Am, went gold by selling over 500,000 copies and earned her two Soul Train Awards (for R&B/Soul Album of the Year and Best Solo R&B/Soul New Artist). And Hollywood stardom isn’t far off either, after having made her debut in The Break Up Handbook and appearing in a small role in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.

natural beauty	78

Let’s not kid ourselves, Heather has the kind of body we dreamed about as teenagers, especially when we would lock ourselves in the bathroom. At a little over 5′8", this self-proclaimed "Trinimerican" has legs that just don’t quit. She may have a playful and enthusiastic smile ….(Blog Owner’s note: I’m not putting in the rest of this paragraph)

personal style	79

Her conservative Caribbean upbringing has definitely influenced her personal style. She can dress wild or tame, funky or classy, but in all cases she manages to look good. She often wears free-flowing blouses and an oversized hat. Her clothes never reveal too much, which obviously doesn’t really please the boys on the panel, but we have to give her credit for once again being different.
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And she has an online journal in her website <sp

To all the naysayers, I’m saying: I did it!

For those who don’t know it yet, I’m studying fashion design right now, something I’ve been wanting to do for so long and I finally did it! Tama na ang pag-do-drawing. Forgive the pun. Actually, that’s what I’d like to talk about: drawing. Of course in class, we are made to draw. A lot. And I’m the delinqunte who doesn’t do her homework and that’s because I think my drawings suck big time. Super na-insecure ako sa mga classmates ko because mine looked like a 7 year old made them at ang gaganda ng mga drawing nila. In fact, my parent’s can’t believe that I’m serious about fashion school because they’ve never seen me draw. Actually they haven’t seen me do a lot of stuff but that’s another story…

Anyway, while hanging my head in shame in class for not giving my homework during the Christmas break, I did my drawings. When I got home in the evening, I drew and I painted. I told my self: "Self, what’s your problem? If you wanna learn how to design, then start drawing dammit!" And I drew and painted the whole evening and I had so much fun. Alternating Rivermaya with old-school Michael Jackson  while doing so helped a lot. I didn’t care if they were ugly. I just drew and drew. Hopefully, I’ll be able to show John (Herrera, my teacher) something in class this week.

John, if you’re reading this: HI!

I need to be inspired.