My Friend Sun Jun

Yes, confidence is all that it takes!  It is usually the ones who initiate, speak out their minds, take risks, and let it all out that are successful in life.  It doesn't matter whether they are right or wrong, so long as their confidence lead them to action.  Act with confidence and everything will more likely fall into place.

Even my Economics professor agrees.  He said that what we're really paying for in our MBA education is how to acquire confidence.  The confidence to speak out, argue, defend, and implement our proposals.  Do you agree?

With regards to the video, I have to say that Federer looked a bit awkward. hehehe (^o^)/  Derek and Tiger looked more natural.  Although I don't follow baseball and haven't seen Derek Jeter in action, I saw an interview of him once and I have to say that all three of them possess a certain quality that I admire.  And that is humility.

For me, Confidence and Success without Humility is "never mind".

   1 pc. whole chicken (1.0 ~ 1.5 kilo)  clean very well and pat dry

   2 tbsp. whole fresh peppercorn, ground

   2 heads garlic, peeled and pounded

   1 Tbspn rock salt

   8 to 10 pcs. Calamansi  or the juice of 1/2 lemon

   6 pcs. lemon grass, white parts only, pounded

   1 pc. chicken cube dissolved in 1 cup boiled water or

          1 Tbspn Chicken Powder dissolved in 1 cup water

   3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

   3 to 4 pcs. potatoes, peeled and half if needed

   

   1.)  Rub the chicken all over with the ROCK SALT and PEPPER.  

         Remember that you can always add salt later on.  If you don't want 

         it too salty, don't rub that much at this point.  The original recipe 

         used 2 tablespoon rock salt.  I'm changing this to 1 tablespoon.

   2.) Rub with calamansi juice, making sure to rub the inside cavity.

        Or you can use the juice of half a lemon.  If you're using lemon, use 

        the lemon zest as well.  Using lemon will produce a more fragrant
        dish.  I don't think they have calamansi in Spain as well.
        hehehe (^o^)/  Go easy on the lemon as well.  Too much can make
        the sauce very sour.

   3.)  Insert the lemongrass into the cavity, together with some garlic.

   4.)  Pour the chicken cube/hot water mixture and olive oil
         on the chicken.   You can substitute 1 Tablespoon of
         Chicken Powder for the chicken cube.  Marinate overnight in
         an oven-proof tray.  Invert chicken midway.

   5.)  Preheat oven to 350F (180 C).  Put peeled potatoes in the baking
         tray, as well as the rest of the garlic.  Bake. 

   6.)  Remember to baste chicken with the sauce marinade every 5
         minutes for 30 minutes or until chicken is golden brown.  Taste
         the sauce and add salt and pepper as necessary.  Cover with
         aluminum foil and bake for 2 hours until tender. Remove excess
         oil before serving.

Our new pet kitten!  A stray cat who has found refuge in our store.  A lucky moment of stillness, just long enough for my new Sony Ericsson T700 to capture the moment.  I actually took this photo upside down and only inverted it using Picasa.  

Ever since he arrived, our borders from last year have all gone away.  They must be really scared of him.  Well, given the choice between tickling but "malambing" sensations and tickling but scary biting sensations in our feet, we would definitely rather go for the former.  So you'll understand what I mean better, check out this picture of our borders from last year.  Here's one of them caught in the act, taking a sip, from Papa's lucky frog water holder which is used during counting bills. (We were actually amused by some of their antics hehehe (^o^)/)

To vote, go to http://www.youtube.com/user/DemocracyChallenge and then click on the "Vote" tab.  All the videos of the finalists will be shown.  Click on "Next Video" until the entry from the Philippines is shown.  Watch the video and give it your "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" by clicking the icon with the thumb sign.  I already voted last week.  Support a fellow kababayan and vote now. (^o^)/

To cap the night, I saw Jamie Oliver challenge one of the Iron Chefs on TV! A rare moment I would say, considering that both chefs competing are well respected in the culinary world.

Ahhh! My ears are still numb and deafened from the sounds in the bar. All along I thought my tolerance for noise was very high. It seems like age has caught up on me and my senses are not as tough as they used to be.

I am choosing to live a simple life. A lot may not get it and may think I am doing otherwise but I don't care. It is in this kind of life that I find happiness.