Words of Inspiration from the Best-selling Novel: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I just finished reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and all I can say, as critics would say it, it filled me up with virtues and showed me the way to my life's pilgrimage and taught me how to listen to my heart. And that pilgrimage was referred to as your Personal Legend.

It is a fable about following your dream. It is astounding with simplicity and wisdom.

I would like to share some important verses that I got from the book and I can say that it has given me a lot of things to think about; first, about how to live my life, second, how and where to find the treasure I've been looking for or simply just following your dreams, and last is whom does my heart say I should live with the rest of my life.

Here are the useful verses:

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it."

"Never stop dreaming... Follow the omens."

- the old king

"Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive... and it has soul. We are part of that soul, so we rarely recognize that it is working for us."

"They make things complicated so that those who have the responsibility for understanding can understand... Imagine if everyone went around transforming lead into gold. Gold would lose its value."

- the Englishman

"Because I don't live in either of my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man."

"Don't be impatient...'Eat when it's time to eat. And move along when it's time to move along.'"

- the camel driver

"Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World."

"Life attracts life."

"You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love... the love that speaks the Language of the World."

"It's not what enters men's mouths that's evil. It's what comes out of their mouths that is."

- the Alchemist

"One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving."

- Fatima

"Don't think about what you've left behind. Everything is written in the Soul of the World, and there it will stay forever."

- the Alchemist

"Men dream more of coming home than about leaving."

- Santiago

"If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return."

"There's only one way to learn, it's through action... The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of his wisdom. That's what I meant by action."

"Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there."

"The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself."

"Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him."

- the heart

"One dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon."

- the Alchemist

"Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor being severly tested."

- an old proverb

"When you possess great treasures with you, and try to tell others of them, seldom you are believed."

"Your eyes show the strength of your soul."

"There's only one thing that makes a dream possible to achieve: the fear of failure."

"Usually the threat of death makes people a lot more aware of their lives."

- the Alchemist

"Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time."

- an old Arab proverb

"My Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word and my servant will be healed."

- the centurion

"Be aware of the place where you brought to tears. That's where I am, and that's where your treasure is."

- the heart

[*Posted last 3/10/2006 on my other blogsite. I decided to transfer it all here so I would only maintain one blogsite as much as possible]

Dunkin' Penoy

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

Dunkin' Penoy is a business that I and my partner, Leo, own. It serves specialty street foods like 'tukneneng' or the fried flour-coated balut/penoy and 'kwek-kwek' or the fried flour-coated quail egg (pugo). Plain steamed balut/penoy and salted egg is also in the menu list. Our salted egg or 'itlog na maalat' is the oily type that most of the people who eat it are looking for because of its better taste. Some beverages are also offered like C2 grean tea and mineral water. It is a fast food located right in front of the tricycle station here in out place in Bicutan, Parañaque, Philippines. It is just near the SM Bicutan mall.

SAVOR

You can enjoy eating dunkin' balut/penoy/quail eggs (as what we call it) by dipping it into our special vinegar that I made. It's a little spicy but it's just enough for the common taste. If you would like to have an alternative taste, there is also the sweet sauce that I also made. You can actually sip the vinegar after eating the eggs and the taste will really drive you nuts.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

BALUT - nearly-developed embryo of a duck; fertilized duck egg; well-known delicacy in some parts of Asia, especially Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and China

PENOY - infertile duck egg; stage before a duck egg becomes 'balut'; comes in 3 varieties - SP (Special Penoy), 'Tuyo' (dried), 'Higupin'(soupy)

IMAGES


DUNKIN' BALUT


DUNKIN' PENOY


DUNKIN' QUAIL EGGS (KWEK-KWEK)


SALTED EGG (ITLOG NA MAALAT)



OTHER PRODUCTS


SIGNAGE


INTERIOR


THE STORE

How to Make Fishball, Squidball, Kikiam, etc. Sauce

This recipe is just based on the sauce that I've been making at Dunkin' Penoy. ;) And the better title of this blog could've been "How to Make Sweet Sauce," but what I put up is more specific. Got any suggestions? Anyways, it's the recipe that counts. :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cornstarch
2 cups water
1/2 clove garlic (minced)
1 whole onion (minced)
6 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
cooking oil

PROCEDURE:

- Mix cornstarch with water in a bowl until it thickens
- Saute garlic and onion in a pan with cooking oil until garlic turns golden brown
- Pour the cornstarch and water mixture into the sauted garlic and onion
- Add soy sauce and vinegar.
- Do not stir until soy sauce and vinegar is cooked on a medium heat
- Add brown sugar (quantity may depend on desired sweetness)
- Stir occassionally

You can also add sliced chili peppers if you prefer spicy.

You can also use this sauce in Lumpiang Sariwa. I use it as an alternative sauce for vinegar for my tindang kwek-kwek*. I'll write more about Dunkin' Penoy on the next blogs.

* I'll also write more about this one in my next blogs.

My Personal Journal

There are things in life you wanted to remember, but there are lots of them, you unintentionally forget. You may remember them if something or someone triggers it to be remembered. They say, you make take everything, but they cannot take your memory away from you. As for me, I made this personal journal to remember some of the anonymous things I wanted to remember.
Some may find the posts amusing and some may not. However, whatever comments you write on will be appreciated.

"If you want to remember something, tie a string around your index finger."

Confucius

"If you want to forget everything, tie a rope around your neck."

Anonymous