Sunday, April 25, 2010

Movie : Date Night

A trip to the cinema for some sort of mind therapy was initially with the intention to watch Shutter Island. However, the unplanned trip landed myself on showtime issues. So, I opted for the best available one, Date Night, in terms of showtime.
     Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, since I haven't read any synopsis, previews or reviews on this one, but, jolly good! It has done me good! It is zany and hilarious. An ordinary couple who's having a monotonous married life, has been living in a phase where everything is in a routine. And the routine includes a weekly date nights at the same restaurant, having the same menu and making stories about couples who dined next to them (..so funny!). To cut the not-so-long story short (only 88 minutes), due to an effort to spice things up for their life, they decided to take up on a no-show reservation at an exclusive restaurant. Somehow, with a mistaken identity, what started as a peaceful dinner changed as an all night long of cat-and-mouse chase between the couples and a pair of goons who had them mistaken with a con couple whom the goons believed is having a flash drive with an incriminating information of their boss in their possession. So, this couple spent all night trying to save themselves, and while doing it, discovered the true facts about their marriage. Aaawww, at some points, it touched this lovey-dovey heart of mine..(sigh..).
     Somehow, we can expect how the story ends. The story line is rather smooth, the plot is not that heavy, anyway it is a comedy film. It is not complicated at all. And it really is 18PL. However, this movie is so funny and very entertaining with no stupid jokes or slapsticks. And I haven't been laughing that hard for quite a long time. A good movie to light up the gloomy heart. The moral of the story is..do not take up on somebody else's reservations..ha ha..

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Food for thoughts..

Just now I was thinking...how to optimize your spending on food when you are not cooking on a daily basis and when 70% of the cost per preparation is born by the person who cooks at that time? It means when I want to cook I would have to buy the main ingredients like meat, poultry, vegetables and others by myself but I shared the 'dry' things like salt, pepper, gas, sugar, onions and things like that with my housemates.

Then also, it is not just about the spending..it is also about the amount of food that you buy, and the amount that you cook. One good thing about buying things on the day that you want to cook is that you definitely would buy only the things that you want to use and in the amount that you want to use. If you buy in bulk or buy things for a week's ration, the case is you might not be using everything during that week and they will just go to waste..and there goes your money. And when you cook, there might be a possibility that there will be some leftovers...and depending on the mood and the time, those leftovers might be going to be stale too..and there goes your money too..into the thrash bin. However, if you are living with your family and cooking everyday, buying things by the weekly or monthly basis is a much better choice(and cost-effective..ultimately).

As I watched The Biggest Loser, I am interested to the tips they gave in that show where they told you to plan your food for the week and put portions of food in small packets so that it will be easy to prepare them and also to maintain the healthy portion of food that you consume everyday. Yes, planning is good for everything. I wonder if I can at least plan what I am going to eat tomorrow? I am not even sure if I'll be in the mood of cooking or not for tomorrow? It might be okay with the current working hours I am having now but next month will be different. It will be the usual 5 days a week 8-to-5 routine and I might be getting myself home later after 5pm. I guess eating out will be inevitable.

So, what should I do? It is not just about spending wisely, it is also about eating healthy. Eating at Subway might give you a healthier choice but it surely costs 2 simple meals for one sandwich. It's a matter of choice. The choices can be in the form of scoop size you take for your rice, or choosing fresh ulam instead of fried vegetables. The choice is yours. The choice is mine.