When was the last time you told a person you loved them? Did you mean it? Because too often, I hear this phrase used, abused and thrown around like it was nothing.

I love you is easy, what you do to show the person you really do, is what’s difficult. Relationships, and keeping them alive in the real world with minimal tragedies, are a measure of patience, honesty, and compromise.

Sure we read about the great tragedies of Romeo and Juliet. We dream of the Noahs of the world that will love us even through Alzheimer’s (The Notebook), the Henrys that will make us fall in love with them every single day because we can’t retain short term memory (50 First Dates), and the Mr. Bigs that will run to Paris to win us back from Russians that don’t know what we’re worth (Sex and the City), but who will write about the daily lives and the normal things that people go through, and the tough life it can be when everything is just normal?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in a bad place, I truly am in a great one, but when people wax poetic about their “epic” love stories because they had to go through “obstacles” and “complications” I just shrug and say we all have our issues to work through. People get complacent, they forget about being there, things fall apart simply because you’ve gotten too comfortable and forget about the other person in it.

Love is a state that will always have ups and downs, and it’s your decisions in life that will point the direction of where it’s going to go, and your choice where to channel it.

I’m not a psychologist, or a relationship expert in any way, but from the time I was carefree and single to where I am now, it’s a whole different ballgame. I’ve lived, I’ve learned, I’ve gotten scarred, bruised, battered and broken. I have also been the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I’ve experienced milestones that I never thought I’d get to at this age and I’ve found a whole new level to living from one perspective, to two.

“I love you” is not a phrase I just throw around, and I’m happy to report that I’m still using it knowing the gravity the words carry behind it.

 

 

So I’m not really a food blogger, but I’m a blogger that loves food. However, it’s been so long since we’ve tried something new, so I haven’t had anything really fun to write about. Until last Saturday when we went to Zark’s Burgers.

You see we’ve heard a lot about Zark’s. Friends have gone to the place. They’ve been asking us for more than a year to go, since people knew how much we loved food, and burgers in particular. Also, my brother is kind of a legend of consumption in our circles (See his blog here) they’ve told us about the eating challenges this particular joint had to offer. So on a bored Saturday afternoon, we trooped all the way to Taft Avenue to see what they had to offer.

What these two challenges were:

1. The Jawbreaker:

• a 1.5-pound triple layer cheeseburger with SPAM, bacon and overflowing with cheese sauce
• 200 grams fries
• 1 12 oz glass of iced tea
• 5 minutes to finish

What you win: The food free, otherwise, a P250 charge.

2. The Tombstone:

• 2 Pound cheeseburger
• 200 grams of Fries
• 1 12 oz glass of iced tea
• 10 minutes to finish

What you win: A t-shirt, free food, and a picture on the wall.

So of course the brother had to try the Tombstone, since he so easily demolished a similar challenge at Burger avenue (1 pound burger, 5 minutes to finish, he ate that in 2 minutes).

My sister and I, not the eating challenge types, ordered the Strikeout at P120 (mushroom cheeseburger) and Zark’s ultimate burger at P130 (bacon mushroom cheeseburger) respectively and documented the whole thing.

Food verdict: The patty I actually liked for being quite peppery, as I find myself adding a few shakes of pepper every time I head to Wham!, a favorite burger place. The fries were thick cut, much like Burger King’s fries, and were plenty on the plate (we added P20 for fries and a drink). What I didn’t like, the bread. It felt like monay and absorbed so much of the oil and moisture from the veggies that it was a soggy mess halfway in.

Pros: The price points are definitely affordable. My meal totalled P150 and I didn’t even feel the need for dinner that night after. Love the variety of the menu (Found here), where else can you get candied bacon in your burger and a Spam slice?

Cons: The wait. It was 1 pm in the afternoon and we waited 30 minutes in line to get in. This is a popular joint, and prepare to get even hungrier before you get in (which may probably be a pro for the people taking on the challenge)

So what happened to the brother? He almost didn’t finish, and after seeing what he had to go through:

I couldn’t blame him. There is no other word for that Tombstone but a behemoth. And those fries, a mountain.

Is this the last time we’re going to Zark’s? Definitely not. We’re coming back ravenous. Prepare the shirts!