I've been inspired by a recent article in Gizmodo, How to Travel Around the World for $418, that I started thinking along the lines of accumulating miles for a living. I actually didn't know you can rake in miles even if you're not flying, so with that in mind I think I can save up miles by wisely using a credit card or two. But that means I'd have to start earning if I want to start getting the rewards, so grad school will probably make or break my plans.

Browsing through several banks' websites, I picked the three with the most promising rewards.

Citibank. Specifically the PremierMiles card, because the miles do not expire. As in. I can save up miles as long as I like, and I can choose which flyer partner I want anytime. That is, points are not reserved to a single airline's rewards system. 

Allied Bank. This is a really good Mabuhay Miles piggy bank. My mom says Lucio Tan owns this bank so that's probably why it has the lowest actual cost to mile translation, P33:1 mile only! 

Union Bank. They have this special card called Omni Pass, and it can save points for PAL, Cebu Pacific and Sea Air. The inclusion of budget carriers is really a plus.

Rainier bitch

UPDATE!
Note: Also check out The Frugal Travel Guy for some tips and stories on how to maximize credit. Of course these pieces reflect credit in the US, but most likely concepts will still hold for us.

Just saw Jeux d'enfants. Feels like Amelie, but with strong hints of My Sassy Girl. I got curious when I read Kris' blog about it, then I realized it stars Marion Cotillard so I scoured for a download right away. Hehe

It's the kind of love story I like, really bittersweet. The kind where the protagonists are the major hindrance themselves. Hah.

Every year, we celebrate Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family and then Christmas Day with my dad's side (plus hunting godparents.) It's a pretty solid tradition, and after twenty years a change wasn't something I expected.

Lola, my dad's mom, had her pacemaker batteries changed the other day and she's still at the Philippine Heart Center. She will be okay to move out of the hospital by tomorrow, but she'll be staying at my Tia's for the time being. It's perfectly understandable, but thinking about it saddens me. I am very close to my grandparents and Christmas without them is incomplete, it's just wrong.

Well, the show must go on. Or something to that effect.

*sigh*


UPDATE! We're going to Metro Manila tomorrow, so Christmas will be spent with lolo and lola after all! :)

I finished catching up with Bones' current season yesterday. I'm so bored, I'm rewatching some episodes. In no particular order, here are some worth seeing again. :)

The Man in the Fallout Shelter. It's a Christmas episode, and it's probably the most dramatic episode of the first season. The characters are not yet that close with each other, so they really bond during this lockdown. 

Two Bodies in a Lab. Kamon! It's a great Bones and Booth episode. Probably the first time Seeley saves her life.

Mummy in the Maze. Just because they're all in costume. Hehe

Woman in the Sand. The Jeffersonian finds Ruth Brennan's remains, and so many other family secrets are uncovered. Booth is such a great friend.

Aliens in a Spaceship. Bones and Hodgins are captured by The Gravedigger. I bet the note Bones writes is addressed to Booth, just as Hodgins is addressed to Angela. Consequently, Hero in the Hold is also nice to watch again since it's Tempe's time to save Booth.

The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken. Cute little episode, not just around the two main characters. Angela and Temperance got into a fight, good thing there's Sweets to explain and settle things. Plus, I like Wendell. Actually, subsequent episodes are really Booth and Brennan fluffy episodes. Season 4/5 is Booth head over heels about Bones, not that it wasn't there before.

Double Trouble in the Panhandle. Bones and Booth go undercover in the circus, so awesome.

Fire in the Ice. They go ice skating in the end. Practically the last three minutes of this episode sealed the deal for me.

Parts in the Sum of the Whole. They recount their first case together to Sweets. Then in the end Booth finally states how he feels clearly to Bones. Very sad episode in general though.

Death of the Queen Bee. Wendell and Angela come to terms with the pregnancy scare. Bones and Booth go to Bones' high school for the murder investigation and ultimately end up going to the reunion. They're so awkward and sweet on the dance floor. Creepy and fun episode. 

The Couple in the Cave. Hannah materializes and I just adore Bones so jealous. Plus the murder they're solving echoes much of their feelings, ish.

The Doctor in the Photo. Bones reevaluates her life because of a case that hits very close to home. Just when Booth is so into Hannah, poor Bones.

Yeah, Bones is my current TV addiction (aside from The Good Wife and Dexter which I started watching again) and it's probably a factor why I'm slacking in thesis writing. But really, I am just so unsure how to write it. 

My work is an offshoot, and quite frankly I don't know how to write something that is almost just the same thing. Yes, I was made to do more theoretical work on the topic and we were exploring new ideas that are sadly not yet in fruition but I feel conflicted. Very much so. I've hardly done anything new and I can't write, knowing that what I'll say has been already said. And I can't write based on what I think I can do just because, and it'll be so weird. 

I can't write not knowing what point I want to make. Crap. 

I'd love..

This weekend is slated to be a gift buying (and making) marathon here in our household. I love picking out gifts, but it's really helpful if I know what the recipient wants. It doesn't have to be anything super specific, just a good gauge of what he/ she wants or needs.

I already received what I wanted, thanks Lolo :), but I'll make a list of things I'd like to get just the same. It's fun to daydream anyway. Hehe

1. Tag Heuer Ceramic Watch (Daydream kung daydream!)

2. LX5

3. Logitech Comfort Lapdesk

4. Cute cable ties

4. Baking/ Desserts cookbook

6. Bag big enough for school but not too big 

6. Red shoes

7. Little planner

8. Publication

9. Good health

10. Complete family picture (Even though some of my cousins are in the US.)

 

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These photos are not mine, click on the images for their sources.

Cookie Phase

I've been experimenting with baking lately, more specifically cookies. Now that I know the exact temperatures on our oven knob, I can bake in ease. Hehe

Today Ina and I baked some sugar cookies and my left over cranberry oatmeal dough. The first couple of batches were a hit! However, in the third batch we lost LPG so we had to stop. I put the dough of the sugar cookies and the trays with the scoops in the freezer. Then after the tank was delivered, we finished the last batch of sugar cookies.

L-R: Baked at room temp, scooped then chilled dough,

 chilled then scooped dough.

Now, here are my observations as to baking cookies so far.

1. Sugar cookies should be baked with the dough at room temperature. It's okay to chill the dough for around 20-30 mins to ease scooping but leaving it to freeze and pop it directly in the oven is a bad idea. Sugar cookies are obviously laden with sugar and it's baked at a relatively high temperature (at least compared to chewy ones) and sugar tends to burn when it's heated long.

2. For chewy cookies, it is imperative to chill the dough and it's best that way before you place it straight into the oven. I think that's the thing with chewy cookies, the cookies are cooked slowly in relatively longer and at lower temperatures. The chilling is key to maintain its shape, believe me.

3. There is this thing with over mixing, I guess you just know it by feel. I can't really say how you can tell if a batter is over mixed; just mix your dough well for a couple of minutes after all ingredients are incorporated and some more unless specified. Luckily I haven't had a batch of over mixed cookies so far. I hear they're pretty hard.

Baking really is an exact science, and it pays to follow your recipe religiously. Just tweak it from there. :)

UPDATE 6/12: We made a superb batch of Banana Crunch Muffins (recipe by Ina Garten). I am so making that again the next chance I get.