238, 239, 240/365 - Fatigue Sets In

Naan bread for dinner

I can't wait to go back to Kyoto

Peanut butter, bacon, and egg sandwich

The past three weeks have been draining for me. It started with the Clark trip. I got home very late at Sunday and had Monday as a day of rest.

The week that followed I had to do inventory and fix stuff for a trip to Batangas Racing Circuit. That happened last Saturday.

After that I had Sunday off, then Monday this week until around Thursday we were rearranging furniture in the office. It was major lifting of desks, either going up or down floors and I did a fair share of lifting.

So yes, I have been very, very tired. That was the reason why I took an extra day off today - I need two straight days of rest. Sunday just was not enough.

I just hope I can recover enough today and tomorrow, because this coming Saturday we're going back to Batangas Racing Circuit.

Out.

237/365 - Rest

My daughter's vitamins and medicines

There will be times my body will betray me. I can feel one coming, and I know I need some rest to rejuvenate my body. Maybe take some extra vitamins to help my body recover.

I'm lucky I know when these things are coming. I also know enough to pace my body so I can time my rest. I need two straight days of rest, to be honest. So I'm hoping it happens this weekend.

Out.

236/365 - Slips

Dinner and some light reading

There will be slip ups. Times I will be down. Today was one of those days, fortunately I was able to pick myself up quickly. I just hope I can do this every time I fall.

Out.

235/365 - Gino's Brick Oven Pizza

Mushroom Pizza

Spaghetti Bolognese

My wife and I had dinner at Gino's Brick Oven Pizza near her office tonight. Here's my quick review.

We ordered the mushroom pizza and the spaghetti bolognese. Both were pretty tasty, but I enjoyed the pasta more than the pizza. Maybe because the pizza had white sauce?

The pizza was a bit bland and salty at the same time. Bland because I couldn't taste too many flavors, and salty because of the cheese I guess. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it maybe needed something else to add to the flavor. It's definitely better than the oily stuff we usually have delivered at home. And I'm excited to try other flavors because they make their own dough and the crust was definitely one of the highlights of the pizza.

The bolognese, wow. That's all I can say. They make their own pasta, and the pasta was thick, firm, and very filling. I'd go so far as to say that the pasta we had was very hearty. Let's not forget that it was also very delicious.

The pleasant surprise we had during dinner was when this nice lady beside our table told us to try the buratta she ordered. Apparently she was a regular there, and she always orders the buratta. She was very nice and let my wife and I try her buratta. We couldn't say no, and I liked the creaminess and the slight saltiness of it.

She also had us try her fresh squeezed calamansi juice. It was also very good, not too sour and just the right hint of sweetness.

Finally my wife ordered chocolate chicharon to-go. It is what it says, chocolate covered chicharon. A very interesting dessert. First you taste the sweetness of the chocolate, then the saltiness of the chicharon comes in. It makes for a very interesting taste combination.

Other thoughts regarding Gino's Brick Oven Pizza? Well, price was worth it. It's not cheap, but it's not that expensive either. Considering the taste and how filling the food was, it was definitely worth it.

Would my wife and I go back there again? Yes, yes we would. We'll order our own buratta next time, and we'll definitely try the other pizza and pasta offerings.

Out.

231, 232, 233, 234/365 - Top Five Family Cars (Again!)

My backpack

Martina's Dress

Travis, Nero's brother

Chula, lounging under Martina's baby chair

I've got another top five list of brand new cars I'd want. And yes, I've revised it for the nth time. And I will keep revising it. Because that's what I do. Also, a new category for my family car criteria: track capability. I attended Circuit Showdown last March 1, 2014, and I can tell you I'm starting to get hooked on motorsports. So I'd want a car that I can hopefully use for track days also. Not that I can afford it. But dreaming is for free, so keep on dreaming.

1. Honda Jazz 1.5L AT. With the paddle shifters. Who am I kidding, as much as it's practical to get the 1.3L engine, I really want paddle shifters. Besides, I'm guessing if I get more addicted to motorsports a Honda Jazz is the most practical car to also modify as a track car. I'm guessing suspension changes would be enough for a trackable family car.
2. Ford Fiesta 1.0L Ecoboost AT. This is also in-line with my trackable family car. This one will be more costly to modify, since I know for a fact I can put a Brembo BBK (big brake kit) in front. That plus improved suspension will definitely cost a lot.
3. Toyota Avanza 1.5L AT. This cracks the top three simply because this is the perfect entry level family car. I won't be able to track this, but with the space I can definitely take my family out for nice road trips. Power is a concern for such a big vehicle.
4. Kia Rio Hatchback 1.4L AT. I have no idea if you can track this car, but it looks fast. And wouldn't it be interesting to be one of the first people to have a Kia Rio hatchback track car?
5. Hyundai Accent Hatchback Diesel 1.6L AT. This suddenly comes barging in to the top five because of the amazing fuel consumption and torque. Again, it would also be interesting to have a Hyundai Accent track car.

To be honest, that track capability isn't really a big priority. It's just a great coincidence that my top two cars now can be used as track cars. I did see a Honda Jazz running time attack at Circuit Showdown, and I won't be surprised to see a Ford Fiesta go on track soon.

Out.