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• In Pursuit Of Higher Education
  Posted on January 3, 2010 12:00PM by Sheng Banzon | 38 Comment/s »
  
  

  SAN FRANCISCO - The city of Berkeley in California was one of my favorite hangouts during the time I spent gallivanting about in the States in 2007. I'd take a train to go for visits once a week, during which I'd duck into music shops like Rasputin and Amoeba, dig up secondhand and first-edition copies of hard-to-find books in hole-in-the-wall stores such as Moe's and Cody's (which has already ceased operations, as I discovered today), check out tie-dyed shirts and other weird merchandise of hippie street vendors along Telegraph Avenue, and try out the weirdest headpieces at Berkeley Hat.
  
  

  
  A walk along the colorful Telegraph Avenue leads you to quirky finds.
  

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• 10 Tips For Independent Living
  Posted on January 2, 2010 06:00PM by Sheng Banzon | 53 Comment/s »
  
  
  
  

  
  SAN FRANCISCO - I was multitasking the other day, keeping an eye on dinner cooking on the stovetop, loading up the washer with laundry, and folding clean clothes straight out of the dryer. A couple of hours before that, I made a dent on my Christmas shopping, got the mail from the post office box, stocked up on groceries, and took the car to the car wash.
  
  "Looks like you know how to get things done," my mother observed. It was a big deal coming from her, because every time I brought up the subject of moving out before, she'd say it's up to me if I want to get my own place--then follow it up with a long list of the things I'd have to deal with myself. Independence comes at a hefty price, as all parents say.
  
  I know doing the errands and tasks I mentioned above does not even comprise the tip of the iceberg when it comes to surviving on your own--physically, mentally, and financially. But in a lot of ways, I'm glad that when I graduated from college back in 2007, my parents didn't pressure me to go find a job immediately afterwards, even if I was already looking for job openings. I was encouraged to spend a bit of time abroad, and in the half-year I was last here in the States, I got to call my own shots and have a dry run at independent living.
  
  Since I stayed with relatives, I learned how to be more considerate of other people, too, in terms of sharing space and coexisting harmoniously. Traveling from place to place exposed me to many interesting individuals with different norms, points of view, and beliefs--and in some cases, I really had to keep an open mind when I talked to them!
  
  Here are some of the things I've learned from the experience. Some may seem trivial compared to the others, but in living alone, you need every bit of smarts in your arsenal:
  

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• The 2010 List
  Posted on January 1, 2010 10:00AM by Sheng Banzon | 29 Comment/s »
  
  

  Our art director told me some time ago that, before he started working, he wrote down all the things he wants to accomplish in life, and made a timeline that specified the target completion periods of each item. He'd recently taken a look at the list again, he said, and was pleased to discover he was still on track.
  
  I realized then that I have made a similar list before--albeit of a much more frivolous nature, as it was for a project I did in high school. Some of the crazier stuff I noted down are as follows:
  
  

  • Own a Ferrari. Obviously, this was before I joined the automotive industry and became fully aware of such a car's total value.
  • Move out by the time I'm 21. Was I really so sure of myself that I expected to be financially independent by that time?
  • Become part of a rock band. Completely doable--as long as it's Rock Band, the game.
  • Publish a book by the time I'm 25. Crap, I turn 25 in 2010!
  • Meet the President of the Philippines. I might've written this to fool my teacher into believing that I'm a person of ambition. If I were to be given the chance now, I'll pass without batting an eyelash.

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• One For The Road
  Posted on December 31, 2009 12:00PM by Sheng Banzon | 25 Comment/s »
  
  
  
  
  

  I've mentioned in a previous entry that I'm an Audrey Hepburn fan, and that Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany's are two of my top three favorite Audrey films. There's a less popular movie of hers that completes my list, slotting between the two aforementioned entries: Two for the Road, in which she stars opposite Albert Finney.
  
  Aside from the use of nonlinear narrative to demonstrate the finer and lesser points of a marriage over the years, Two for the Road is one of my favorite films of all time because it is an honest portrayal of married life through the story of main characters Mark (Albert) and Jo (Audrey), even providing one of the most spot-on definitions of marriage that I know: "Marriage is when a woman asks a man to take off his pajamas--and it's because she wants to send them to the laundry."
  
  Not only his PJs, I wish to point out; also his shirts, trousers, handkerchiefs, and socks. And--God help all married women--his knickers.
  

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• Me Versus Food
  Posted on December 30, 2009 12:00PM by Sheng Banzon | 28 Comment/s »
  
  

  SAN FRANCISCO - Thanks to my dad's thin gene, I never had to worry so much about what I eat and the corresponding weight gain that goes with my food intake--not yet, at least. I love food and I'll eat almost anything, except perhaps the more exotic fare that have squiggly, once-alive creatures comprising the list of ingredients. I haven't gotten that far yet.
  
  My personal preferences are mostly Asian and a bit of European cuisines; I never was a big fan of American food. I was last here in the States a couple of years ago for nearly six months, and aside from my aunt's steak nights, the occasional fast-food during road trips, and the diner jaunts for when I was in old-timer mode, I rarely went near burgers, milkshakes, waffles, corn dogs, buffalo wings, pulled-pork sandwiches, mashed potatoes, and whatever else Americans are weaned on. I just don't like how heavily this sort of food sits in your stomach after the meal. Besides, I didn't want to put much stock on the thin gene--I never know when it'll let me down.
  
  This time around, though, I am more willing to give half-pounders a try because of a Travel Channel reality show called Man v. Food that my colleagues and I are nuts about. Basically, host Adam Richman goes from state to state, searching for the best food spots in each town and sampling their specialties for the benefit of all those people watching at home, eating bland popcorn. He also participates in one food challenge per episode, which always involves something crazy--like finishing a pizza with the same diameter as a ten-wheeler's tire in under an hour. It's the sort of thing only Americans will dream up.
  
  Luckily, Adam has made the rounds of San Francisco and the Bay area already, and one of the places he visited was The Olde San Francisco Creamery Co., conveniently located in Walnut Creek where my aunts work.
  
  

  

  The diner's old-fashioned sign puts you in a good mood right away even before you get to eat anything.
  

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