Duterte

Rodrigo Duterte is a candidate for the presidential seat in the upcoming Philippine national elections this May.

A lot of people are voting for him because they believe that his no nonsense way of handling things and iron hand in dealing with criminals are just what our country needs.

I’m not sold on him for two reasons:

1. He has been accused of (and he hasn’t denied it) being directly in charge of the Davao Death Squad, which has killed low-level criminals on the streets of that city he used to be a mayor of. I don’t think I want a president who condones killing.
2. In interviews and presidential debates, he hasn’t explicitly explained HOW he plans on eradicating crime in the country, and this worries me because he just might resort to using the Death Squad but in a national scale this time.

However, I’m still considering him because his compassion is undeniable. When Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck our country, he sent help but without emblazoning his name on the relief good bags that he sent.

I have a month left to decide whom to vote for, but the prospects are weak.

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Gratitude list

• Down time: my SO’s home department invited me to help plan a surprise birthday “party” for him and his department-mate. Their birthdays were right after each other’s. We went to a nearby country club, had lumch, played billiards and bowling and overall just had a great time in each other’s company
• Dogs: They used to scare me so much because I got chased by a big black one when I was a kid. How ironic now that our own dog (1 human year and 3 months old) is big (ish) and black, but he’s the sweetest. He’s surrounded by the cats that my sisters own, so he has imbibed some of their mannerisms. Instead of jumping up and licking our faces to greet us, he runs to us and rubs his body along our legs. When we reach down to pet him, THAT is the time he jumps in us and licks our faces. Our dog Bono is part Malinois, part labrador, a tiny part chow chow. I’d also like to think he’s part cat, but maybe that’s just me.
• Desserts: at the party earlier we has two types of cakes: a banoffee bundt cake with chocolate chip walnut and cinnamon streusel, and an ice cream cake. I just lost all the calories I burned from doing yoga from these cakes.

Cake

Ever since my mom got into baking a few years back, we’ve had scores of just absolutely dee-lish treats almost anytime we want. Our favorite would have to be the banoffee cake with choco-chip walnut streusel (pictured above). Second would be the cream cheese/walnut cookies. Yeah we’re nuts about walnuts. :)) Gah. Excuse me while I finish my dessert.

deep fried oreos

I had dinner at Flaming Wings with two of my closest friends today. I had my usual chicken tenders with original sauce, mashed potatoes, blue cheese dip, red iced tea. After that filling meal, my friend ordered dessert: deep fried oreos. WHOAAAA. Quite possibly one of the best surprises of my life haha. The cookies were coated in doughnut-tasting batter, deep fried, served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate powder and sprinkles.

One more time:

WHOAAAAAAA. =)