Trivial National Pursuits

As expected, all Monday long my social news feed was cluttered with posts, news items and blow-by-blow accounts of how our candidate to the annual contest known as Miss Universe was faring. Even the "serious" news organizations of this country were giving up-to-the-minute updates.

It is now Tuesday, and apparently, the buzz has shifted to - strangely, of all places - Miss Jamaica. I knew (from my feed) that while our contestant entered the top 10 of the pageant, she did not fare any higher, and news stories were sprouting up saying Filipinos were now behind Miss Jamaica because she "supposedly" has Filipino blood. (Which she has denied.)

No, she doesn't have Filipino blood. Stop asking her.

(Courtesy of twitter.com)

Several of our men in uniform died (it seems needlessly), a city mayor is possibly going to be arrested by the Senate, but what makes us pulse online is if a beauty pageant contestant has Filipino blood? Talk about priorities - or the lack thereof. (I read a report that "Jamaica" suddenly trended online for the Philippines during the Miss Universe pageant.)

As a country, we are "supposed" to be obsessed with two things in the international arena: how congressman Manny Pacquiao fares in his next boxing bout, and how our candidate will do in this year's slew of beauty pageants. If this is what it means to be Filipino, then I most definitely will be on the other side of the fence, what some have labeled as anti-Filipino/un-Filipino.

I don't care much for boxing matches - I find them as having no difference with the gladiator fights of yore (one can die in either scenario from the strikes sustained). I actually wonder if Manny has some cognitive dissonance with what he does in the ring and what he preaches whenever he is asked his religious views - one that pretty clearly states violence as a no-no.

I don't care much for beauty pageants, also. It is an insult to women to be judged on how they look in a bikini and to be assigned some kind of numerical worth on that basis. The very notion of pageants is no doubt related to what is already an epic obsession of young girls to look a certain way, along with the powerful messages transmitted in mass media about whitening lotions, laser therapies and underarm treatments.

What is it about our national DNA that takes pride in the arenas of violence (boxing) and sex (beauty contests)? How do we reconcile that with the fact that we are supposed to be a "deeply Catholic" nation - one that eschews divorce but where illegitimate children are rampant?

And, in Miss Jamaica's case, we seem to ride on the coattails of anyone who is remotely suspected of having a single drop of Filipino blood. Kahit nga wala, basta masuspetsahan lang. (Even if there is no evidence, just suspicion.)

Last year, a bunch of kids from Philippine schools placed well in an international mathematics competition. I didn't hear anyone clamoring for these kids to be paraded on floats when they arrived back home, the way we do when Manny or a beauty contestant comes home. You may think little of this, but it is the bits and pieces that make up our cultural landscape - and we have arrived at a (sad) point where one can be called a "traitor" for not being supportive of either of them.

One argument says "they bring honor to the country!"

We certainly are famous - even our cab driver in Vietnam knows who Manny Pacquiao is - but I'm having a hard time equating it with honor. Unless we are now putting fame and honor on the same footing, the only ones I see gaining from these competitions are Manny or the beauty titlists themselves. (And the companies that sponsor their respective contests, of course.)

Maybe I have un-Filipino views. But that doesn't make me less of a Filipino, the same way one isn't required to be Catholic in order to be considered a Filipino citizen. It just makes me part of the minority - and that suits me just fine, in a major, major way.

One Sunday At Inagiku

Often touted as one of the top-of-mind Japanese restaurants in Metro Manila, Inagiku (located at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel) has earned itself a loyal following as well as favorable reviews in local foodie blogs. I was once feted here by a friend who insisted that she could cajole the chef into cooking bits of bovine fat into such marvelous crispness that it could send one into food orgasm. (The chef did oblige, and after tasting it furtively, my friend's "request" certainly made a compelling case for the former in the food vs. sex debate.)

In line with this, let's move on to delights more suited to the palate.

Art and I knew Inagiku as a place of calm and quiet, having been to this restaurant separately on weekdays. Sundays, however, are a different matter. As soon as the doors opened (at 11:30 AM), the hostess lead the first party in - and everyone else didn't bother waiting for her to return, and proceeded inside on their own to find "their" tables. 

I proceeded to do a quick run through of the different stations, this being my first time to eat here on a Sunday. I passed by the salad station and thought to myself, you're not going to get much play today.

At the farthest end of the spread was a chef cooking up a huge serving of sukiyaki. I knew right away what my first dish would be.

I had a sip of the sweet, savory broth and felt what everyone feels when having their soup of choice: a warm, fuzzy buzz all over. Though Art insists the broth was too sweet for his taste, I found it to be perching a Goldilocks-like balance with the savory portion: just right. (Proof positive that taste is highly subjective.) I've had three different versions of this dish from other local Japanese restaurants, and they were either too sweet or a little watery. This one hit the spot, and set the tone for the upcoming fare.

Knowing they do their beef justice (see first paragraph), I asked the chef to cook us 2 servings of the 2 beef varieties they had for grilling: a thick cut, and the other one was thinly sliced. We prefer our meat medium to medium rare, and in what seems to me to be an internal magic clock in chefs (or, more likely, having the weight of experience), he knew the exact moment to pull it out of the heat and served it just the way we like it. I knew my arteries were hardening just by smelling the delectable morsels, but as Mr. Wilde advised, I beat temptation by hurling the fat-laden pieces down my throat.

I also opted to have some scallops - in my mind this was considered "lighter fare" - but I think the resulting dish was not as stellar as the beef because the freshness of the seafood was almost drowned in butter/oil.

No trip to a Japanese restaurant can be considered complete (in my book, anyway) without tasting their sashimi - and the sight of the ruby and orange squares (tuna and salmon) all laid out made sure I would not miss out on testing Inagiku's definition of freshness. They did not disappoint: I know it's odd, but I like it when my raw fish doesn't have a fishy smell. The sashimi tasted bright, if that even makes any sense.

There were several other dishes which I failed to take in - mostly because I was already satiated from what I did try. (Does this mean a return trip is in order?) Side note: While we do not have a picture of them, we thoroughly enjoyed the ebi tempura, which had a light but flavorful batter, and shrimps that were noticeably more plump than most.

I found many of the desserts charming to the eye. While I did see many varieties, I only tried a few of them - ah, the vagaries of reaching age 40, but one has to temper the consumption of sweets. But who says we cannot make take them in visually?

For some reason, this green ball struck me as the prettiest of them all.

And inside it was a pleasant surprise.

A swathe of matcha cream topped with red beans, both of which are ingredients that have always tickled my taste buds. But don't fret if you prefer sweets from nature, you will not be disappointed.

I remember reading somewhere - the name of the blog escapes me just now - that you had to request for ice cream because it was not readily "available," and I found that to be just the case. It was quite delightful to be having this cold dessert in unconventional flavors - black bean and wasabi.

The wasabi variety was especially masterful, having the flavor of its namesake without the sting.

We found ourselves in a virtual food coma, but thank goodness for the tea provided, which helped to soothe our feelings of immobility. At more than PhP (Philippine Pesos) 2,300.00 per person, this is not something I would partake of everyday. But if you're looking for Japanese fare that will put a smile on your (now bloated) face, a trip to Inagiku might be just what you need.


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Inagiku
2nd Floor, Makati Shangri-la Hotel
Ayala Avenue corner Makati Avenue,
Makati City 1200
(632)8142580
http://www.shangri-la.com/manila/makatishangrila/dining/restaurants/inagiku/

Resolutions, Schmesolutions

With 2015 now in its infancy, I don't doubt that a plethora of resolutions are being made, or have been made. After almost four decades of existence, however, I would classify some (if not most) resolutions as mere "schmesolutions".

Which I would define as the art of making resolutions without any intention of achieving them.

All I needed to do was to look back on what transpired last January 2014 to know that this is, tragically, a sad fact.

In between posts of "Happy New Year 2014!" and status updates about feng shui predictions, there was a viral post last year about saving money every week - and I saw a lot of my Facebook friends claiming that "this is the year na mag-iipon ako!" (that I will start saving money) while sharing that post.

The article made saving look achievable - set aside 50 pesos on the first week, then double it to 100 the following week, raise it to 200 on the third, then 400 on the fourth, and so on until you've gone the full 52 weeks of 2014.

(From monsterpiggybank.com)

As a financial planner, I knew the folly of such an exponential plan - you would need to "save" over a million pesos in one of those weeks, not even halfway through the 52 weeks! (By week 16, the plan required you to "set aside" 1,638,400 pesos!)

I've always believed that people should save what they can, with what they have or earn. Only when they are earning more or have more should they also relatively save more. So if you've already set your mind or goal at 15%, even if your salary increases, you can still set your savings rate at 15% or increase it gradually to 20%.

Armed with the knowledge that some of my friends wanted to be financial "savers" (instead of spenders), I approached a couple of them and told them about the nature of my job - to sit down with clients, discuss their goals and reasons for them, know their financial status, then draw a financial map as well as concrete plans/steps on how to do those goals, based on what they have now and how much they can set aside to make those goals a reality.

I showed them why the plan they saw in the Facebook post was actually difficult to achieve - for anyone - and that they should instead have a plan to set aside a set amount of money every month, just to cultivate the habit. In our separate meetings, they both agreed that setting aside a specific amount, and not one that increases every week, was a more manageable way of arriving at their goals - one wanted to set a retirement fund (already aged 50), the other one was a 30 year old who wanted to travel.

Age50 knew he was already running against time, seeing as he wanted to retire by age 60. So he offered to set aside 20,000 a month. I looked at his salary and while he could afford to do so, it would mean a drastic change in his lifestyle - I cautioned him and advised him to just set aside half. He confidently answered, "I can do that! I can give you 10,000 a month!"

Age30 wanted to travel to Europe in 2 years, so I asked him how much he was willing to set aside every month. "Less than a thousand pesos."

I was stunned, to say the least. Surely, I answered, you know that a trip to Europe costs hundreds of thousands? I know people who've spent close to a million pesos in two weeks time traveling there - and they didn't even stay in fancy hotels.

Fast forward to the middle of the year: Age 30 didn't bother meeting me again - and it's safe to say he won't be going to Europe in a couple of years. Or decades, given his unrealistic expectations from setting aside only 12,000 a year. (Actually, I suppose he could still go - on credit. That is a separate subject altogether, because used improperly, it is a financial quicksand that could ruin your life.)

Age50 started saving 10,000 a month in January...then February...but by March, I got a notification from the bank that I should contact the client because they couldn't withdraw the needed monthly amount in the debit arrangement. "I have repairs at home! I will just pay double next month!" he answered back through text messaging, when I asked him about it.

April came, and Age50 was already screening my calls. He didn't make good on his "I'll pay double next month" statement.

May arrived, and I saw (on Facebook) he had spent a pretty penny buying designer clothes - but he couldn't spare enough for his monthly contribution for his retirement fund.

Until November 2014 arrived, and he contacted me, saying "Joey, I mean it this time! Please start deducting from my account so I can set up my retirement fund!" But when I once again asked for his contribution, his response was, "Wait, I have to start saving...now?"

It made me wonder: how were you planning to do what the viral post suggested, to set aside an increasing amount every week, if you couldn't even manage setting aside a set amount monthly?

I've come to the conclusion that, like the proverbial road to hell, financial resolutions are lofty and full of good intentions - with no intention of making them concrete or a reality.

We all say we want to be millionaires. We are envious when we see others succeed in their small business - swinerte lang yan (that's just luck) - disregarding the hard work that business person put in to be "lucky". We keep wondering when will our (literal) fortunes change. Why we don't see our bank accounts increase. Why we are still living hand to mouth at 50.

It's easy to make resolutions. Get a piece of paper, think up something "important sounding so that my Facebook friends will be impressed," and you're done.

But without an achievable, time-bound plan that you have the will to execute, your resolutions will just pile up, year after year. Pretty soon, you'll end up at 60, forced into retirement, without a retirement fund in sight.

Believe me, that does not a pretty picture make.

Don't let 2015 be just another year you spend wishing without any action. It's not a coincidence that the act of dreaming happens when you are asleep - consciously not doing anything. And I promise you that your resolutions will remain in a dream like state - unless you wake up and do something concrete about them.