Dealing With Drunks June 30, 2009
Posted by Alexander Sawit in Stuff in General.1 comment so far
By Alex Sawit
30 June 2009
I hate dealing with drunks.
Of all the things I will eventually miss about this wine shop of ours, disciplining misbehaving customers of the smashed kind is not going to be one of them. Whether they’re newcomers who’ve just walked in off the street or folks who’ve been coming over for years, I don’t relish being forced to bring people into line after they’ve stepped over it. But it comes with the territory of running an establishment like ours. Normally I only have to restrain offenders by firmly communicating my annoyance in a manner that is both verbally and visually unmistakable (kinda like Bruce Banner’s mild mannered speech, “Don’t make me angry… you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry,” but delivered with the blood-shot ferocity in the eye of Tony Montana’s classic, “Say hell-oh to my little friend!!!”). But, yeah, there have been a few times when I’ve tossed people out when I deemed it necessary.
Just recently, I had to drop the axe on a pair of Aussie neighbors after an unpleasant night. They’re decent blokes when they’re sober, but they just couldn’t get it through their skulls not to act like bulls in a china shop when they’re at Cyrano.
“There are consequences for your actions,” I told one of them when he came back several nights later asking for a shot of malt whisky only to be denied service. “You’re welcome to order coffee when you guys are here,” I told him blankly, “but from now on I won’t serve either of you alcohol.” At first the fellow seemed to accept his sentence with aplomb. Then about a week later he showed up in a less than sober state and, in a pseudo-bullying manner that embarrassed me in front of my regulars, insisted on being served some Glenfiddich. So I put on my game face, loaded daggers into my words and knifed away.
Nemo me impune lacessit. *
“Go home,” I told him sternly even as he tried to explain himself on his way out. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” True enough, he did come back to formally apologize for his behavior and he’s since stuck to drinking coffee when he’s here.
Agreed, not all alcohol-induced behavior is unwelcome (as if Cyrano friends didn’t already know that). But when it gets to the point that customers are causing trouble, then it doesn’t matter how much money they’re spending. You have to lay down the law or they’ll keep doing the same stupid thing night after night, making life miserable for your other customers. I know it’s not the Filipino way to treat customers as “equals,” but then again I’m of the opinion that part of the problem with Filipino society is that we’re too tolerant, too accommodating and too bloody nice to know when people are walking all over us. No wonder most foreigners think we’re pushovers.
To quote the following business maxim: “Never accept what is unacceptable. Because once you start accepting it, people will start giving you $#@% on a regular basis.”
* Since the fellow asked for Glenfiddich, it occurred to me that anybody who is an advocate of single malt scotch should also know this Latin phrase, which for centuries has been the defiant motto of the whisky loving people of Scotland. Loosely translated, it means, “No one steps on me and gets away with it.”
Best Beers of Southeast Asia 2009 (Thanks To “The Godfather”) May 13, 2009
Posted by Alexander Sawit in Food & Drink, Reviews / Recommendations.2 comments
By Alex Sawit
13 May 2009
I’m thinking about a scene from The Godfather. It’s the one where Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) confronts his sister’s traitorous husband, Carlo, telling him to fess up about his complicity in the horrific machine-gun slaying of Michael’s eldest brother. “You think I’d make my sister a widow?” he says to his terrified brother-in-law, assuring him that his life would be spared if he stopped protesting.
“Just don’t tell me you’re innocent,” Michael warns coldly. “It insults my intelligence.”
As fans of the movie trilogy know, what came next was one of the most brutal mafia executions in cinema history, with Carlo admitting his guilt only to be garroted inside the car, the killer uprooting him so violently out of the front seat that his shoes smashed the windshield as he kicked and struggled to his death. All of it had the effect of turning Pacino’s words into a chilling catchphrase.
Don’t tell me you’re innocent. It insults my intelligence.
I’ll take my cue from that, thank you very much. Like Pacino’s fictional character, I too find it insulting when I hear declarations of innocence from those who are blatantly and stupidly guilty.
As it happens, I’m annoyed at a bunch of sneaky executives at the country’s biggest brewing company, San Miguel. They’re the ones whose bright idea it was to reformulate San Miguel Pale Pilsen. In my last review of Southeast Asian beers, I chastised them for ruining this classic brew beloved by generations of Filipinos. The reformulated beer is now a hollow-tasting shell of its former full-flavored glory, all because of the decision by management to reduce the amount of high quality malt used in the recipe and substitute it with a higher proportion of cheaper cereal extenders.
But there’s more. I just found out, belatedly, that those same penny-pinching corporate clowns have been lying through their teeth to their own advertising agencies about what they did. This didn’t reach my ears, however, until someone from an ad agency that handles San Miguel beer brands dropped by the wine shop last week and relayed to me the “official story.”
“The reason San Miguel decided to reformulate Pale Pilsen,” the fellow sincerely explained based on the briefing he received, “is because the brand has been losing market share to San Mig Light. They altered it to make it taste more like San Mig Light, which is what their research says consumers prefer now.”
Really… that’s what they’re saying? Excuse me for a moment, readers…
[SFX: Imaginary footsteps of me walking around the room LMAO!!!]
Yup, San Mig Light, one of the blandest beers on the planet, something so hilariously lousy that horses would take offense if you were to liken it to their piss. Unfortunately, it’s an important part of the San Miguel brand portfolio, enjoying strong sales among pretentious teens and status-conscious young adults who’ve bought into the glossy ad message that light beer is “cool.”
“It’s a bogus explanation,” I said to my customer in so many words. Having once been in the ad industry myself, I still have insider friends of my own who are connected in one way or another to the local beer industry. Based on what they told me, I told my customer that the reformulation was a cost-cutting move in response to rising prices of imported barley malt.
“San Miguel owns both brands,” I continued. “Both sell for the same price even though the low-calorie variant is significantly cheaper to produce. They make more money selling San Mig Light, so it’s in their interest to push this brand even if it cannibalizes market share from Pale Pilsen. Like I said, they own both brands, so in reality they don’t lose market share at all.”
My customer was swayed. “You know, that actually makes more sense,” he said. “Now that I think of it, I think the story you received was the genuine one.”
The truth still annoys me, though.
I miss the old San Miguel Beer. I can only hope that someday in the future those manipulative liars at the company will be gone, allowing a new generation to set things right. It’s either that or Filipinos might just decide to take matters in their own hands.
Why not? Vengeful things can always happen if there are enough outraged consumers who feel insulted… capiche?
BEST BEERS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA 2009
Note: Only beers available for retail were considered for this review.
Best Pale Beer, Philippines – SAN MIGUEL OKTOBERFEST BEER
Producer: San Miguel Brewery
Alcohol Content: 3.6% vol.
In 2008, Philippine brewing giant San Miguel launched two all-malt beers for the domestic market: San Miguel Premium and San Miguel Oktoberfest Beer. The former is actually an old brand that disappeared from local shelves many years ago but remained in production for a few foreign markets. That’s beside the point, though. Premium is an overrated brew that has an odd, mild finish that really disappoints me, a far cry from the rich taste of the original San Miguel Premium that I remember from some twenty years ago.
San Miguel Oktoberfest is better. Though still not as full-flavored as I would prefer, it is slightly more tasty and much better balanced than the other all-malt beer despite its lighter body. Too bad, though, that this was just a limited edition brew for the company’s Oktoberfest marketing promotions last year. It’s not easy to find, but as of this writing you can still find it at a limited number of Seven Eleven outlets in Metro Manila.
Best Beer Overall, Philippines – CERVEZA NEGRA SAN MIGUEL
Producer: San Miguel Brewery
Alcohol Content: 5% vol.
Cerveza Negra was tops in last year’s review for this category and it looks like it will stay there for the foreseeable future. I have no problem with that. Though it has traditionally been overshadowed by its Pale Pilsen counterpart, Negra has never been anything less than its equal and in the minority opinion of a few discerning local connoisseurs is even seen as the better of the two.
Best Dark Beer, Southeast Asia – CERVEZA NEGRA SAN MIGUEL
Nobody else in the region has ever made a better dark lager than this. Period.
Best Beer Overall, Southeast Asia – BEERLAO LAGER
Producer: Lao Brewing Company
Alcohol Content: 5% vol.
The “laid-back beer” of Laos stays at the top of the list this year, though I get the feeling that Cerveza Negra San Miguel could displace it with a little bit more tweaking and a little less inconsistency. It’s just a pity that BeerLao isn’t available in the Philippines, because I’d take it any day over any pale beer from any of the local breweries.
UPDATE (24 May 2009): In case anyone wants to know, the current suggested retail selling price for a bottle of San Miguel Beer is PhP 19.00, while that of San Mig Light is PhP 22.00 a bottle. What a rip-off.
Reflecting On “No Reservations: Philippines” April 21, 2009
Posted by Alexander Sawit in Food & Drink, The Opinion Page.2 comments
By Alex Sawit
21 April 2009
“So Alex,” I was asked for the umpteenth time at the wine shop, “I know you’re tired of hearing this, but what do you think of the Philippines episode?”
Here we go again.
It’s been over two months since No Reservations: Philippines aired on the Travel Channel in the U.S., but the debate rages on among Filipino fans of the show. It amazes me, though it does not surprise me, how a TV program about food of all things could spark so much divisiveness among Pinoys. On one side are people who are bitterly critical of Augusto, the Filipino-American fan handpicked by show host Anthony Bourdain to accompany him to the Philippines as a guide but who, once the camera started rolling, turned into a sheepish introvert unable to explain the culinary charms of his parents’ homeland. On the other side are those who defend Augusto as a new-born patriot, proud to have finally discovered his roots and whose love for his ancestral country puts to shame a lot of Pinoys who are grudging of their own national identity. Not surprisingly, the latter tend to like the episode a lot, while the former tend to like it a whole lot less… maybe not at all.
Since we say it’s better late than never, Cyrano friends, it’s time for me to once and for all make known my mind to you about what went wrong and what went right in that hotly debated episode.
Never mind that Bourdain’s researchers told him that Clark Airbase was a part of U.S. military history during the Spanish-American War (it wasn’t built until long after Spain turned over the Philippines to U.S. rule under the provisions of the Treaty of Paris signed on December 19, 1898). Never mind that Pampanga food authority Claude Tayag, talking to Bourdain, repeated the myth that sisig was invented by the late Aling Lucing (sisig was around long before Aling Lucing popularized her restaurant’s version on a sizzling plate in the 1970s). Never mind any of the other factual errors mentioned on the show that could be politely excused. In my opinion, No Reservations: Philippines was a good, entertaining episode.
But if I must admit to feeling disappointed, it’s because I was expecting more due to the mistaken impression I was under in the months leading to the episode premiere. Bourdain is known for constructing each episode around a strong central theme. When he arrived in the country for filming in October 2008, his interviews in local publications led me to believe that the theme for the Philippines would focus on a wonderful idea proposed by none other than Bourdain himself: That Filipino cooking, in Tony’s admiring opinion, is an astonishing fusion cuisine tradition that is already centuries old.
“You have had fusion cuisine from the beginning,” Bourdain remarked excitedly to one of his hosts, a conclusion he arrived at as a result of struggling to describe the kaleidoscope explosion of flavors he discovered here, which struck him as vaguely familiar yet seeming to defy definition by his palate even after years of traveling to most every food destination on the planet. “It’s an asset that you have a wide variety and different influences from your years of colonization,” he said, expressing delight that ours is the only cuisine in the world that is the result of both Chinese and Mexican influences. “Those (Chinese and Mexican influences) are two great cuisines.”
The Original East-West Fusion Cuisine. What an awesome concept. That’s what I thought would be the theme. I should say, that’s what I misled myself into thinking.
No matter. Cheers to Bourdain for deciding to build the theme around the story of Augusto – a story about a young Filipino-American in search of his cultural identity, which is really the age-old story about our struggle to define what it really means to be Filipino, to be a unique people whose heritage is of both Oriental spirit and Hispanic passion. That’s the right story. It should make all Pinoys take a good look inside and seek the honest answer in their own hearts. That’s what makes the Philippines Episode something special (along with the fact that Bourdain declared our lechon to be the best pig he’s ever eaten).
There’s just one more thing I should mention. I really wish the producers had recruited the flamboyant Carlos Celdran (he who pioneered the now famous walking tours of Manila) as their local fixer for the Manila segment of the episode. Celdran would have done justice to the city’s street food culture, unlike the person they wound up choosing instead. That culinary pretender ought to be called out for fooling the producers with his lousy, error-filled “foodie insights” and half-baked understanding. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and the fellow just kept misrepresenting things to Bourdain over and over again, at times wrongly describing the regional context of the dishes or ignoring context altogether and passing off regional specialties as “typical” Filipino food. Thanks to him, Bourdain thinks that our indigenous kalamansi citrus fruit, which is ubiquitously used as a souring agent in our food, has a bitter taste (that’s because that fellow didn’t think of straining out the bitter seeds, which is what anyone with common sense is supposed to do, instead of allowing both kalamansi juice and seeds to be mixed into the palabok rice noodles that he carelessly asked Tony to eat). Worse, when Bourdain asked him to list the basic ingredients for making adobo, he completely excluded vinegar, a jaw-dropping omission because vinegar is THE ingredient without which a dish cannot truly be called adobo (sorry, but the stir-fried “adobo shrimps” he perplexingly chose for Tony to try is not a classic adobo dish). There’s more and I could go on but… ‘nuff said.
There, I’ve said my peace.
The Corgi Carriage (Or “Iona’s Got Hot Wheels!”) April 6, 2009
Posted by Alexander Sawit in Stuff in General.1 comment so far
By Alex Sawit
07 March 2009
It’s good to see Iona going out for a spin in her own hot set of wheels. For Cyrano friends who have been keeping track of Iona’s recent therapy sessions, seeing the little princess happy in her new red convertible puts smiles on our hearts.
The only downside for Iona’s boyfriend, Samu, is that the convertible seems to have room for only one passenger. Poor Samu. At least he can always drive beside Iona on his junkyard cruiser when they’re on a date.
Wine Makes Women Want More Sex? March 31, 2009
Posted by Alexander Sawit in All About Wine.add a comment
By Alex Sawit
31 March 2009
As if we really needed convincing to begin with about the link between wine and the amorous activities that often result after men and women partake of this liquid indulgence.
“Red Wine Increases the Female Sex Drive,” declares the headline in Decanter Magazine’s list of online news articles. The report (24 March 2009, decanter.com) reads as follows:
“Red wine increases the female libido, research has found.
“According to a study carried out by the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital in Florence, drinking one to two glasses of red wine a day increases female sexual desire.
“The study investigated 789 Italian women aged between 18 and 50.
“Drinking red wine not only helps to release inhibitions, but also has a direct effect on sexual activity.
“Women who drink one to two glasses of wine a day were found to be more sexually active than those who abstain.
“Dark chocolate, which is rich in antioxidants, has a similarly positive effect on the female libido,” concluded the news article, implying that both red wine and chocolate have aphrodisiacal properties due to the compounds common to both substances (consider that Merlot is a red wine varietal often cited by wine tasters for it’s chocolate-like flavor characteristics).
Wow. I guess this means the ladies at the shop aren’t just being extra friendly after some Pinot Noir – as if we ever needed much convincing about this to begin with.
POSTSCRIPT: As entertained as I am about the findings of the Italian researchers, critical thinking obligates me to remain skeptical about their conclusion. The real question is: Does red wine make Italian women more sexually aggressive, or is it simply the case that sexually aggressive Italian women have a preference for red wine? Bada-bing, bada-boom!
Our Fantasy Wine Shop In Batanes February 28, 2009
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By Alex Sawit
28 February 2009
I’ve come to a decision, Cyrano friends. I’m going to open a Cyrano wine shop in Batanes.
Yes, Batanes.
I hear you. I don’t have to be a mind reader to know what you’re thinking, something along the lines of, “WHAT THE &@%#… A WINE SHOP IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE??? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND???”
Hear me out. It’s all about location, location, location. That is, a location like the one in this picture:
No, there is no business plan. No, I don’t expect customers to beat a path to our door – I don’t expect to have any customers, period. And no, there is no capital investment. It’s all wishful thinking, sort of. After all, if other folks can entertain starry eyed visions of building their dream homes, why can’t I dream about opening our wine shop in what is arguably the most magical place in the Philippines?
Sigh… but what a dream it is.
If you’ve never heard of Batanes, it’s the province that lies to the extreme north of the country, so far north that on a clear day it is said that one can see Taiwan from the province’s northernmost island. Separated from the mainland of Luzon by nearly two hundred kilometers, it remains one of the less accessible destinations in the Philippines due to both its distance from the capital and its vulnerable latitude, which lies in the regular path of some of the country’s most forbidding storms during the typhoon season. But while these factors have traditionally deterred visitors, they have also allowed Batanes to thrive in isolation as an unspoiled gem of natural and cultural beauty.
Having just returned from there more than a week ago, I will say unequivocally that Filipinos will not find anything more breathtaking anywhere else in their own homeland. Photographers and film directors love to describe Batanes as the closest thing one can find in the Philippines to a Mediterranean coastline, often drawing comparisons to Italy or Greece. Other travelers speak of Ireland or New Zealand, while I myself have seen Northern California’s jagged coast conjured in a few of the many stunning seascapes to be found in this province.
There is much I want to say about Batanes, that enchanted windswept world wherein time has a different meaning and where the people are the noble guardians of their own identity. But that’s for another discussion. For now, I offer Cyrano friends a glimpse of three fantasy locations where I can only dream of opening a shop where we can all hang out to share good wine before a glorious view. By all means, feel free to tell me which one you like best.
Wine Shop Location No. 1: “Rakuh a Payaman” on Batan Island
Popularly known outside Batanes as “Marlborough Country,” this communal pasture overlooks a spectacular panorama of the surrounding coast. Laden with spellbinding visual textures, the view starts on the left with Mahatao Lighthouse moving toward Mt. Iraya and the big Pacific Ocean on the right.
Wine Shop Location No. 2: “Vayang Ranch” on Batan Island
Also referred to in tourist guide books as “The Rolling Hills.” Surrounded by stark, weathered fence posts running along the slopes, the lonely hilltop at the heart of the ranch offers visitors a hauntingly beautiful view of the South China Sea. Wine lovers will definitely want to watch those gorgeous sunsets over the horizon with a glass of vino in hand.
Wine Shop Location No. 3: “Saddleback Rock” on Sabtang Island
Overlooking Chamantad Marine Sanctuary is a coastal point leading to the Ivatan village of Chavayan. In the absence of a name, I refer to it as “Saddleback Rock.” Towering above the pounding waves and cutting through the wind from the sea, it forms the right side of a beguiling cove in which turquoise waters transform to aquamarine in the shallows. The clifftop from where these pictures of Saddleback Rock were taken would be an incredible location for our fantasy wine shop.
Food & Sex February 23, 2009
Posted by Alexander Sawit in Food & Drink, The Opinion Page.add a comment
By Alex Sawit
23 February 2009
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT MAY BE MISCONSTRUED AS OBSCENE BY THE INTELLECTUALLY CHALLENGED. CYRANO FRIENDS MAY DISREGARD THIS AND PROCEED, OTHERWISE PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
“Food Porn.”
I don’t know about you, but to my way of thinking it takes an admirably fiendish mind to coin a phrase like that. Admirable because of the simplicity with which such an innocent everyday word could be comfortably juxtaposed with another so vulgar and indecent; fiendish because, well, it just is.
Whether celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain invented the phrase or just popularized it, and regardless of whether I approve of it or not, I tip my hat to him. Even though he’s been gleefully using the phrase on his show for years, hearing it still brings amusement to my pseudo-scandalized ears and I’m sure Bourdain gets a kick out of just saying it. No wonder he was gabbing at his poetic best, albeit luridly, his voice-over seemingly more emphatic than usual as he narrated his pre-Valentine’s Day presentation of No Reservations, the aptly titled “Food Porn” Special Episode.
What is food porn exactly, as defined by Bourdain? To put it this way, it is food so good that the sight of it makes a culinary nerd like Tony feel like he’s feasting his eyes on a mind-blowing pictorial of the Playmate of the Month. Just like a centerfold treat of lusciously sweet curves, creamy smooth legs and ripe bosom ampleness, food this seductive gives Tony the “gastronomic equivalent of morning wood,” as he calls it.
So think of No Reservations: Food Porn as an unapologetic acknowledgment. With guest scenes of chefs tempting us with sinful creations and explicit camera close ups of wickedly decadent dishes, Bourdain gets in your face to remind you of something that I suspect we all already know deep down inside. That is, like fine porno, good food is orgasmic.
Care to disagree?
That’s what came up for discussion the other week after I and a few guests viewed segments of the episode at the wine shop. This still being a country with a heavy Roman Catholic predisposition, the idea that food and sex share an intrinsic connection seemed to unsettle my audience ever so imperceptibly.
“I always like to tell folks,” I tried explaining in so many words I can’t remember, “that food and sex – or food and love if you prefer, since this is Valentine’s Week – are two sides of the same coin.”
“You only have to examine the language,” I proceeded to say. “Romance writers have been telling us this for centuries, but we rarely stop to think about the connection even though the clues stare us in the face whenever we read the words. Whenever we talk or read about sex, why is it that we enjoy describing it with words we associate with food? Just listen to classic lines repeated in romantic literature.”
Lines like: She thirsted for his sweet kisses…. Feeding his gaze upon her beauty, he consumed the sight of her delicious feminine form…. Their appetites having been aroused and hungry for more, they devoured each other in a night of ravenous passion….
Or try the phrases of modern pop culture: Eye candy… sugar babe… beef cake… honey pot… cherry pie… sexy peach… hot tamale… popsicle toes…
And the porn industry? Why do you think they call it a “cheesecake” shot to begin with? Let’s not even explain the misuse of the word “pork” outside of government spending.
“The truth is,” I continued, “our primal instinct tells us that food and sex are practically one and the same thing. Eating sustains life, while sex is the action for creating life. In a sense, both have the same ultimate objective. The fact that both acts give us great pleasure helps ensure that we will be irresistibly motivated to achieve that objective. That’s why our ‘civilized’ minds can’t help but enjoy blurring the distinction between the two, because combining the two pleasures doubles our lust for life, if you will forgive me for saying it that way.”
Unfortunately, our shop talk was cut short by the priorities of running a business (like selling more wine to newly arriving guests). But I think I made my point clear to everyone. Know thyself, I always say.
Just to be fair, I’ll let Bourdain have the last word with his key message from the special episode that sparked this discussion in the first place:
“Food and wine leading to sex? Yes, as it should!!!”
Looking For Blue Skies January 30, 2009
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By Alex Sawit
30 January 2009
In Samurai X: The Motion Picture (the movie version of the hit anime series that I used to watch when it was airing a decade ago) there’s a moment early in the story when the hero befriends a kind-hearted samurai who would, through a twist of fate, later become his mortal enemy. In this peaceful beginning, however, the two speak with warm familiarity as only two warriors can relate to each other. As they talk about how fleeting life is, the other samurai then recites a haiku that strikes a chord in the hero’s heart.
He said:
“The bluest sky
Is infinitely high
And crystal clear.”
The poem struck a chord in me, too. If you’ve ever really looked up and gazed at the clear blue sky, you might also understand it the same way I did.
Try it. Wait for a calm, cold morning when you can feel the chill of the air bracing on your skin and awakening your senses, when the sky above is wide open and faint clouds delicately whisper across in white, when the sunlight is so soft that it ever so gently makes the colors glow around you. Then look up. If everything is right, that’s when the sky is at its most dazzlingly beautiful – a blue so deep and so vividly pure that it pierces you and quiets your soul.
You need not be a samurai to understand it. But as a martial artist, I like to believe that this sentiment is what defines the heart of a warrior – the quiet heart.
To be calm in the heat of battle… to see clearly and not be blinded by rage in the face of your enemy… to feel compassion for those whose hatred seeks to destroy you… that’s the quiet heart as I understand it.
All the martial artists whom I most respect and admire in this world have this heart. I see it in my longtime friend, Rico M., a truly decent human being who is both my senior colleague and chief instructor of our school. I see it in our headmaster and teacher, Master Y., a Korean gentleman whose good nature and old-fashioned modesty belie how terrifyingly efficient he can be in action when life and death hang in the balance.
And then there is me. I know what it is like to have such a heart. But I also know what it is like to lose it. You see although the quiet heart is a state of being, it is also a continuing path. One can therefore diverge from it.
The thing is I used to be an active martial artist who trained regularly with my colleagues before I opened Cyrano in 2004. Four years. I hadn’t really thought about how long it had been until only a few weeks ago, when our small family of black belts got together for a special lunch to celebrate the beginning of the New Year and catch up with each other. But seeing everyone again only made me realize what I’d done, what I’d given up in order to commit myself to something else.
The truth is I have no regrets about the choice I made. I love this wine shop of ours and I love the Cyrano friends I have met and dedicated myself to during these last few years. I know I made the right choice.
And yet…
One way or another, if I have to do it one step at a time, I need to find those blue skies again.
Cyrano New Year 2009 January 8, 2009
Posted by Alexander Sawit in News & Events.add a comment
By Sam Alapan
05 January 2009
[EDITOR’S NOTE: It seems like it is becoming a tradition for a certain bunch of Cyrano friends to spend the night of New Year’s Eve at their favorite wine shop (it also seems like it's becoming a tradition for me to stay away from this happy establishment on this very night in favor of staying home and catching a lot of sleep). So I thought it only fitting to ask Sam, just as I did last year, to write about the New Year’s celebration at Cyrano for our blog. Might as well make this a tradition too, right Sam? –Alex Sawit]
Work and other extra-curricular activities gobbled up my schedule and distracted me from my regular visits to Cyrano. The extra-long weekend was a well-deserved vacation – probably too long for some people, right Alex? Nevertheless, it gave me time to inject some red in my veins.
Our soft-speaking angry madman and Cyrano friend, Sam
The New Year celebrations may just have started a bit too early for me, though. A good friend of mine and her husband returned to the Philippines after a very long absence. The holidays are like that, I suppose: meeting old friends and family, sharing stories that would either embarrass the storyteller or make the ones hearing them laugh out loud. It was a good thing that the couple I was with were wine lovers and Cyrano, as always, was a good recommendation.
After a few hours talking about the new Filipino sound hitting the airwaves over two good bottles of Pinot, Mae and Glenn Lanoza had become new Cyrano friends. I know there’s an official list out there that someone’s keeping and the roster of names just keeps on growing.
However, other people popped-out of the woodwork as the real New Year’s celebration began. I was in good company with Janet, Pat, Cris and Joco as we met an hour or two after the fireworks. I was hoping to get a good view of the display coming from in and around the city from my condo, being in the 17th floor, but the drizzle was a party-pooper. On the other hand, it wasn’t really the kind of celebration I was looking out for.
The start of the year wouldn’t be without stories on how the year went, most of them a few months old and some are just like the firecracker you lit that didn’t go off and then explodes without you noticing it. I’m speaking rather vaguely, right, Cris? But Janet will always be the main event, I guess it goes with the territory and the fact that her fiery and passionate take on life cannot be missed.
The rest of us, Pat, Joco and I included were just revelers on one side, watching the fireworks – no, let me rephrase that, the interesting discussion on New Year’s Day. I know in some part of the city, many people are celebrating as well, maybe louder than our own get together but among friends this is the kind I would hope for.
My good friend, Mae, corrected herself after meeting some of the Cyrano friends. Quaint was rather a shallow adjective to describe Cyrano, and she soon discovered how intimate people can get within the narrow walls. Of course, it helped when she learned how close she and Cris were related.
It’s always hard to describe what kind of people go to Cyrano, some don’t necessarily have anything in common with each other. And saying that we’re all wine lovers doesn’t really cut it after all. But in all the years (and they’ve just been a few) I’ve managed to find people who are open to express themselves without fear of judgement. Just the kind of people who I want to spend the first day of the year.
I missed them all in the last few months I was away. It’s easy to find wine and everything that goes with it, but good company will be hard to find. At least I know where to find them on New Year’s Eve and every evening thereafter.
Huffin’ And Puffin’ December 17, 2008
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By Tisha Samson
12 December 2008
Samu on the junkyard cruiser trying to get to North Carolina to visit the Iona Pig…
[EDITOR’S NOTE: It seems that we can’t get enough of the continuing Samu-Iona love story. The pics and message came straight from Samu’s human guardian and our first ever Cyrano friend, Tisha, whose e-mail text I posted above in its entirety along with the original e-mail subject caption. At least we know Samu can take a seat if it’s a first class ride. –Alex Sawit]
