First Day in RAK-K9 School

Daddy dropped me off on Saturday at the RAK-K9 Obedience School for dogs.  Achi Midori actually told me about this school and she warned me that after the three week period spent in the school - I will feel compelled to obey Daddy's commands.   That didn't sound appealing.  What if I wanted to jump at him and he doesn't want me to?  Does that mean will never jump at him when he comes home?  But that's so much fun.

So - you can just imagine that I was most unexcited when I met Gio Marcelo - my teacher.  He seems to be a nice guy.  Again - achi Midori warned me about him.  She said Gio is responsible for making her do things that she doesn't want to do.  Like staying in a position for a long period of time - even if she wanted to play with the kitty and doggies that she sees.

The good news in all of this - is that I'm not alone in this ordeal.  I may have left Midori and Daddy at home but I'm meeting new friends.  They are my classmates.   I'm so sorry - but I have not had a chance to capture what their names are - but they all seem nice.

Teacher Gio

Yes Teacher Gio.  I already know my "Sit" command.

Beagle Puppies. RAK-K9 also boards dogs.

This is Raki.  He's a Belgian Malinois. He used to appear in a TV Show - Santino.

Another one of my classmate.

A Husky Puppy.  They are starting young. I think I'm the oldest in the class.

A Golden Retriever Puppy.  Gio was giving him one-on-one Training session when we arrived.

Daddy just got a report from Teacher Gio today.  He said that I'm a very bright dog.  However - I'm the noisy dog in class. :-P.  Of course - I'm noisy - I'm like achi Midori.

Listen to my song on Glee: Candles

Kurt and Blaine's duet on Glee is wonderful.  Looking back at my Glee Club days - I wish that our club was as brave as the Warblers are when it comes to being gay.  Let's admit it - as much as there are straight members of the Glee club - a lot of them were gay.
Listen to my latest recording: Candles This track was created using Glee for the iPhone
Learn more at: glee.smule.com. Checkout: www.fox.com/glee/iphone.

Deep Fried Snickers and Deep Fried Coke

We've been meaning to check out the Collective located at Malugay st.  Last weekend was Diner weekend for the House of Queens. It started with Mr. Jones on Saturday, then we ended up in a Japanese Diner at Mall of Asia - and lastly Wingman Diner at the Collective.  I have actually been at that same spot at Malugay St. before because I had to pay for a traffic violation ticket at the MAPSA ticket processing office which is located in front of the Collective compound.

The whole area has that Campus community vibe.  It's not different from the NSU campus we visited while we were in Singapore.  We were thinking that food and shops will be cheap.  We discovered - it wasn't.   Food was reasonable but the shop that we checked out selling bags made out of recycled pieces of clothing was not cheap.  A computer bag that I liked - was 6,000 pesos.  A lot of their body-bags are worth 4,000 pesos and up.  I really wanted to buy something - thinking that I will be cool if I had something from the store - but I realized - I didn't find anything that I was willing to buy for the price that they were asking for it.  So never mind.

There were two memorable items at the Collective that I would like to share with you.   They are the dessert items from the Wingman Diner.   I will let the pictures make you drool.

Underneath the Whipped Cream is a Snickers Bar wrapped in Batter - then Fried.  Ooey-Gooey-Goodness

That is not Chocolate.  That's Coke Syrup - Reduced and Placed on top of Funnel Cake.

Dining at Mr. Jones

We had dinner at Mr. Jones. It's a diner at Greenbelt five. It's also owned and operated by the Raintree group of restaurants ( who operates restaurants like Momo, Chelsea etc. ). It was a fun dinner. We were actually with Midori. Even she liked the food that we ordered.

Salad for Starters. Raintree is known for good salad creations. This is not an exception. It was yummy.

Bagel Chips anyone?  This actually reminds me of local Bakeries' Biscocho.

Salmon spread for the Bagel Chips

Main Dish was Grilled Pork chop with Apple Sauce

My favorite part of the Meal. Old fashioned Biscuits with Gravy.

Told you Midori was also happy with our Restaurant choice.  And don't you think Diners and Beagles go together well? 

Toblerone Torte for dessert.

All American serving dish. Heinz and A1 Sauce in the Background.

Complimentary Tootsie Rolls.

Char Siew's Visit to Animal House

Daddy and I visited the vet at Animal House today.  It is my first day of school and I will be gone from the House of Queens for fifteen days so Daddy just wanted to make sure that I have a clean bill of health before my intensive training.

I was actually very excited when we left the house.  I thought we were going to visit Grandma.  I love visiting Grandma because she always gives me yummy treats.  I was definitely disappointed when I saw us pulling into the parking spot at Animal House at Jupiter.  It was another visit to the Vet.  And I definitely don't enjoy these visits.

Can somebody take me down from this table?

Daddy.  I promise to be good from now on. 

Daddy.  This is torture.  Can't you hear the pain in my voice?

Are we finished?  Have you finished torturing me?

We're Finished with the test.  Yehey. Let's get out of here.

Blogger's Note: A guest post of Char Siew the Shar Pei.  BTW - Char Siew is very healthy.

I have 4 GLEEKS on This Song

Listen to my latest recording: Can't Fight This Feeling This track was created using Glee for the iPhone
Learn more at: glee.smule.com. Checkout: www.fox.com/glee/iphone.

Shopping at Marks & Spencer

I can't seem to find anything to buy from Marks & Spencer.  Most of their clothes are too big for me.  Their shirts seem to be made for broad shouldered 7 foot tall men.  So when I'm dragged into the store by one of the queens, I actually beeline to this area on the second floor.  The store has two seating areas which are usually occupied by men accompanying their girlfriend, sister, wife, mother, best friend as they go through their shopping.  I like these Bauhaus styled chairs.  They are very comfortable.  And since we typically stay at the store for at least half an hour - I need the chairs to be really comfy.

Char Siew is Going to School

It seems like it was just yesterday when I first brought Char Siew home.  He was six weeks old - and I fell in love with him when I saw him at the Vet.  I knew I was just ready for another dog so I immediately gave an offer to his former humans.   He is now one year old ( he celebrated his first birthday on February 14 ).  Like any growing boy, he is now ready for school.

I decided to give him the same education that his brother and sister had.  He is going to Rak-9 Training under Gio Marcelo.  We actually benefited a lot from the training that Midori got from Gio.  I actually told my friends that after the training - Midori was like a new dog - very obedient.   Some bad habits have resurfaced since then --- but I just know that she's actually very obedient - especially when I'm approached by other Beagle owners and asked if I had her go through training.

When Midori was in training, I missed her terribly.  I remember looking forward to the day that I had to pick her up.   Back then - leading to the time that I was going to drop her off with Gio - I didn't really have any concerns.  This time with Char Siew it's different.  I'm already getting sadder as Saturday approaches.  I do not look forward to missing him during those 15 days that he will be with Gio.   So now - I try to spend as much time as I could with him.   Sigh.

The Betis Church of Pampanga

In 2009, the queens decided to join the Ultimate Philippines' Pampanga tour.  The highlight of the tour for the queens is the five ways lechon prepared by Chef Claude Tayag at Bale Dutung.   However, we did fail to mention that apart from the five hour lunch experience - the tour actually showcased the beautiful towns of Pampanga.  There were actually two churches that we visited:  The Bacolor Church ( which is now half buried because of the lahar from Mt. Pinatubo and the other church is the Betis Church in Guagua Pampanga.

The Betis Church is a hidden gem that every Filipino should discover.   The wall and ceilings have beautiful paintings.   It may not be painted by the great Renaissance artists but one cannot discount the fact that these are beautiful paintings.   Of course - as one looks around - you can actually find the illusions that a lot of our churches in the Philippines have.  What may look like bas reliefs are actually paintings rendered with the appropriate shadows to make it look like it has depth.   Even the pillars are actually painted to look like that a master mason has worked on it.

Listen to my song on Glee: Hello

The Glee App is my favorite app. Singing songs using the app relaxes me.  Sharing this performance with y'all. I gotta say I may not be the best singer out there but I surely got guts.

Listen to my latest recording: Hello This track was created using Glee for the iPhone

Learn more at: glee.smule.com. Checkout: www.fox.com/glee/iphone.

My Life Rocks

Midori the Beagle eats Home Made Pet Food

Blogger's Note: A post from Midori the Beagle.

My Latest Portrait

Growing up,  I had dreams of becoming a Beauty Queen.  Who wouldn't when you have everyone who see you telling you that you're so gorgeous.  All those dreams were lost when rashes started appearing on my belly.  I was red in a lot of spots on my belly.  I also gained weight and I started to lose my waist.  Daddy and I looked for many solutions.  I went on a diet.  I tried organic dog food.  I also tried the hypoallergenic dog food.  None of these worked.  For a little bit of time - the rashes will go away - but it will always come back.

So we did some research and found a lot of literature on the internet about eating homemade pet food.  I was celebrating when I learned that Daddy decided to push through with this.  I thought, finally - I'm going to eat with them on the table - sharing their food with them.  Unfortunately - homemade pet food does not refer to actual table food.  Human food is not good for us dogs - especially my Daddy's food because its got a lot of spices and ingredients that are fattening and not necessarily good for us dogs.

For our Dog food recipe,  Daddy referred to this web-site: http://www.pet-grub.com/.  What Daddy liked about this is the simplicity that the web site presents in the presentation of the food.  We've actually seen other sites where it was too complicated.  In pet-grub - you get the meat product, heat it and then serve it to your pet.  Initially,  we tried raw.  I liked it in the first couple of weeks - then it gave me an upset stomach.  So I stopped eating it.  So - Daddy started cooking the meat.  He just had to add digestive products into the food to make sure that I can eat it properly.  

So what has been the effect of eating homemade pet food for Char Siew and me?  Today - I feel more beautiful.  I no longer have the red spots that I used to have.  Moreover - the waist is coming back.  This makes me wonder if I can join the beauty contest that I wanted to join?  Or maybe - I can start auditioning for TV and print commercials.   Look at these new photos - and let me know --- do you think I will make it?

The Regal sit-stance of the Beagle

A neck that Goes on and On like a Giraffe

And of Course - The Puppy Dog Eyes

Dreaming of Boracay

It's a weekend.  Work days are over.  I am home - watching TV.  I'm on my bed with Char Siew sleeping by the foot of the bed.  I'm still anxious - over the usual things that come with the job.  But I just want to relax.  Times like these - I dream of Boracay.  Its powdery white sand.  The sun on my face.  A boat ride on the paraw around the island.

SM Hypermart @ South Superhighway

We do our Grocery shopping at SM Hypermart at South Superhighway.  It's big and for some reason - it's not crowded.  It definitely beats going to the one in C5 and MOA - where you feel as if you are in contest to get the last peanut butter jar on the shelf.  They have free parking - which is an added bonus.  For me - the best part is that their ground beef is a lot cheaper than other groceries.   My dog consumes 7 kilos of meat in a week. So if you are looking for cheap meat, and you don't like crowds and you live in the Makati area - I suggest you check it out.

Trapped

Blogger's Note: A blog post by Char Siew the Shar Pei

Why am I trapped in Daddy's bedroom?

I don't like it here.  It's so boring. 

Nothing to do but sleep.

Is there anything I can do to get out of here?

I can see Midori out there.

Do you see her tail?

And the food on the table.  I want some of that.

I'll try to jump.

FAIL.  Sigh.

Graduation Video Created using iMovie

This movie trailer was created using iMovie and was shot using my Sony NEX 5.  The Movie Trailer creation is a standard feature of iMovie.  It's awesome!  The application makes it really easy to create short movies that one can share from hours of clips that were taken during an event.   It also allows the movie maker to upload the clip to different sites like Facebook and Youtube.

The event is my Niece's pre-school graduation.  She's a bright kid.  So she ended up becoming the emcee of the event.  She's not a shy kid ( I think she gets that from her mom, and uncles ).  Of course - her Mom, my parents, and her uncles ( including myself ) are very proud of her.

I have actually shared this video on my Facebook page.  Everyone who watched it was amazed with the end product.  I must say that Apple really does a good job of helping us mere mortals in coming up with beautiful creations.  I may not end up with an Oscar statue for creating this Video --- but it really made my family's day when they watched the video. 

Sunday Fatty Sunday

When you wake up hungry on a Sunday morning,  you end up being irrational about what to eat.  You just crave for the sweetest dessert as breakfast.  You also chow down a heart attack waiting to happen for Dinner.

So here was my Sunday breakfast:  the Cinnamon Swirl from Starbucks and my Sunday Dinner - the KFC Double Down ( finally I was able to grab a bite of this monster - they were always out of stock in other KFCs before ).