A Life of Croissants, Cheese, Cold Cuts, and Wine

...is la vie Parisienne at La Vie Parisienne, a cozy little container van-cum-bakery-slash-wineshop-slash-something-or-other along Gorordo Ave., Cebu City.

Lead Character is lazy, so he only took one photo during
one of their La Vie Parisienne get-togethers.
Here we feature NonFacebooker's sister Eyebrow.

Lead Character and his friends consider it the ultimate hangout that matches their age and economic status.

Instead of beer and the occasional whiskey (which, one might argue, actually matches their age as well), they have champagne and wine, both white and red.

Instead of the kropek, the sizzling sisig, or the chips that they used to have back in their, um, teens, they have brie cheese, cold cuts, croissants, and whatever else they fancy that doesn't necessarily complement the type of wine they're having.

And of course, everything they buy is congruent to the wads of cash that they have in their wallets. Every bottle they buy is carefully selected. They spend almost half an hour browsing through the shelves to find bottles of wine that do not cost more than Php200 each.

Come to La Vie Parisienne. Enjoy some wine, engage in intellectual discussions about books, socio-political concerns, foreign-language films, and eventually, sex, undiagnosed medical conditions, and memorable bowel movements.

Au somme!

Man of Steel (2013)

 
In case you do not know this yet, Lead Character is the Chief Procrastination Officer of his company. And to live up to his position, he is reviewing Man of Steel several days late. And to further outdo himself, he is going to write a lazy review. And here it is:

Any movie that features Henry Cavill is worth watching, even if the movie is tremendously flawed in its writing that Lead Character, at times, wanted to punch someone in the face, or in the neck, or in the small of the back.

Photo taken from jcentrecebu.com

To avoid having to suffer through a long line of moviegoers, Lead Character and friends decided to watch Man of Steel at JCentre Mall. Their cinema is quite small but pleasant. Even if you sit in the front row, your viewing experience will not be compromised as it's at a good distance from the screen. There are a couple of things, though, that Lead Character didn't enjoy. First, the volume was too low. Whether or not it was only the case for that specific screening of Man of Steel doesn't matter. First impressions last. Another, their popcorn comes in just two flavors: salt and cheese. Lead Character prefers sour cream and onion. What's worse? They put too much cheese powder in Lead Character's popcorn that it tasted saltier than a wrestler's neck. For the first time in his life, Lead Character couldn't finish his large bag of popcorn.

Of an Art Form and Its Gods

When news broke that the Fashion Institute of the Philippines (FIP) was opening its doors in Cebu, Lead Character got excited. Hell, he got more excited about it than when he learned Krispy Kreme was finally opening branches in the city. Lead Character isn't really big on fashion--he's even awkward when it comes to it--but he supports the industry wholeheartedly, and hopes that one day local designers' works are the sartorial preference of everyone.

Last night, FIP had a grand launching show and party at the Ayala Terraces. Lead Character was lucky to have gotten an invitation to the event from his dear friend, and FIP alumnus, Punky. The event was a lot more enjoyable than Lead Character had expected. It was the first time he'd ever witnessed a live runway fashion show, which turned out to be more than just that. It was pageantry infused with rock music, opera, latin beats, art, six-pack abs, indulgence, wine, amuse-bouche binging, fashion, and six-pack abs.

For Lead Character, the show was such a success that he even considered enrolling at the FIP, perhaps to make bags.

Here are a few of Lead Character's favorite things about the evening.

Catering from SumoSam, which was fantastic.

FIP President Renee Salud's opening remarks, which was short.
Lead Character hates long speeches that no one really listens to.

That guy.

In the spirit of gender equality, that girl.

This shot, because it makes Lead Character laugh.
That guy was up there for a full minute. True story!

The soprano singer, who isn't in the photo above.

Losing Cakewalker's

Several months ago, Lead Character and his friends found out one of their favorite hangouts, Pod5, had closed down. Pod5 was phenomenal not exactly for the karaoke but for one of its signature drinks, Blue Imagination. It was tasty and heavenly and so strong that halfway through a pitcher, one of you might start dancing to the beats coming from Formo downstairs, and another might be going on a drunk-texting rampage, and others might even start leaving to look for regrettable one-night stands.

Until now, Lead Character is still grieving it. There was news that went around, though, that Pod5 had transferred to Club Ultima, but that is yet to be confirmed.

The other day, Lead Character found out that another favorite hangout of his and his friends had closed down.

Yes, the coziest coffee shop in town, despite their so-so beverages and sluggish Wi-Fi, is no more.

What are they taking away from Lead Character next? This???

NO!!!!!

Jay-R!!!

Last Saturday, December 4th, Lead Character had the chance to be at the Passionata Gleek Squad Showdown, a show choir competition held at the Cebu Doctor's University Auditorium. obviously inspired by the TV show "Glee."

The first contestant, The UCLM Choir, did "Bohemian Rhapsody," which was actually quite good that Lead Character almost cried, making him miss being at events like Passionata. It was indeed an inspiring celebration of music, even if most of the numbers were not that original.

It was the guest stars of the evening that proved to be much more noteworthy. Jay-R (of the "Bakit Pa Ba" single-hit-song fame) was delectable. The Asian Troubadours kicked ass with a certain level of musicality that Lead Character thinks deserves an audience at the Carnegie Hall.

In between performances, the organizers held a contest which involved members of the audience dialing a phone number, and whoever was lucky enough for his/her call to get through first, s/he would win the prize. Lead Character had 3 chances of winning, but his calls never made it through, which is fine, because the prizes never got as lucrative as a laptop, anyway. Or a Winnebago. Or a pet kangaroo.

To those who never made it to the show, here's a montage of a few highlights of what was without a doubt a night to remember for a few days. Lead Character would like to apologize beforehand for the video quality because all he had was his phone to shoot the performances with.

Cakewalker's Caffé: A Sanctuary for Med Students and Telecommuters

For about two years now, Lead Character and his friends have been frequenting a quaint little cafe called Cakewalker's Caffé, located at The Strip along Osmeña Blvd., Cebu City.

Lead Character used to wonder why it's called Cakewalker's, and why Caffé is spelled as such. He never really got the chance to ask the owner, but based on his online research, he learned that Caffé is cafe in Italian, and that cakewalk either means (a) n., a strutting dance performed by minstrels or (b) n., an easy accomplishment. Lead Character is not sure about the Italian part, because their menu is very Filipino-American, which includes bacon and egg with rice, and a clubhouse sandwich. As for the definition of cakewalk, he'd like to propose a new dictionary entry:

cakewalk, v., to spend hours at a cafe, whether productively or not, to:

1. escape the drudgery that is your very own lower middle-class home and work (this is if you're a telecommuter like Lead Character and JabberedOnion)
2. review for the medical board exam with your study group (this is if you're med students who enjoy throwing medical words at each other)
3. discuss your legal options with your lawyer (this is if you're a call center agent who just got fired--as witnessed a few months back by Lead Character's friend, who couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation)
4. eavesdrop on other people's conversations (not that Lead Character can help it--yesterday, a recruiter was quite loud describing how interested candidates can work in the UK, with special mention of how the job could change their lives forevah)

Cakewalker's Caffé does not really offer the best coffee; Lead Character still prefers Starbucks and the brewed coffee from Dunkin' Donuts, but it has a couple of standouts, like its selection of Caffé Signature Drinks. It does not offer the best cakes as well (which made Lead Character suspect right from the beginning that the name Cakewalker's might not have anything to do with cakes at all). Recently, though, Lead Character was able to try a slice of what he can only describe as effing decadent.

That being said, the one thing that makes Cakewalker's better than any other coffee shop in the city is its customer service. Its baristas are polite and proactive. When they catch you smoking outside, they take the initiative to bring you an ashtray. When there aren't any more electrical outlets available for you to charge your laptop, they lend you an extension wire. They also say "Thank you for coming" in the most natural way. Starbucks baristas can get phony sometimes, nauseatingly overzealous with their work. At Mr. Coffee, it sometimes feels like they don't care whether you're a customer or not. At Figaro, their demeanor gets lost in their good looks. And don't even get me started on Brown Cup--they complain when you hand them a five-hundred-peso bill and what you ordered is just worth Php100. One time, a Brown Cup barista called a customer a "bitch." Not cool.

Aside from grade A customer service, the ambiance at Cakewalker's is relaxing, like your very own home on a rainy afternoon; you just want to stay indoors and curl up with a book, or browse profiles on Facebook. Several times Lead Character has slept in one of its couches, without having to worry about being judged.

So in case this is the first time you've heard about Cakewalker's, do drop by, order a cup of coffee, just let go, and for the first time in your life, cakewalk.