Nescafe Caramel Macchiato

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In our first week of training (for technical writing), the management provided us with 2 packs of Kopiko (with brown sugar) 3-in-1. I have always preferred Kopiko over Nescafe so I mentally gave the EMCI management brownie points for that. But as the song goes, “too much love will kill you,” in this context, my love for Kopiko, fizzled out from having to drink it twice a day, for two weeks. Suddenly the flavor that I used to love became too strong for me.

But as you know I can’t go on in a day without my fix so I looked for an alternative. So one morning, after throwing my bag on my seat in our office, I made a quick run across the street to the Mini-Stop to buy me some coffee.


I saw this little Nescafe vending machine sitting behind the counter. The menu board says it’s only Php 32… that fits well in my budget. It’s one of those self-service things, which means after paying in the counter, the cashier gave me a paper coffee cup and a stirrer, then I’m practically on my own.

I went to vending machine and inspected it a bit. It has 5 buttons for each coffee flavor: caramel macchiato, cappuccino, coffee brew, coffee latte, and creamy and sweet coffee brew. It’s caramel macchiato for me, the same flavor that I always pick at Starbucks when I want something hot. I placed the cup on the drip tray, under the brew head and pressed the button. After a few seconds there it goes, my hot Nescafe caramel macchiato.

It tasted nothing like the Nescafe 3-in-1 (thank God), surprisingly, it was good. Not bad for 32 bucks. 

Go Nuts: Cupcakes and Donut

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Watching Sex and the City's Carrie and Miranda (click here to view the screenshot) eating cupcake triggered my craving for something sweet. It was a desire so strong I ended up in SM San Lazaro. With eyes sparkling, I found myself gawking through the glass shelf of Go Nuts Donuts. The donuts of different flavors sat prettily on the trays.

The memory of Carrie and Miranda eating their cupcakes lingered in my head so I set my sights on the chocolate cupcakes. They go for Php 15 a piece. I wondered if they’re as good as the ones that my friend Patty makes. I decided to buy two of them; one with the strawberry butter cream icing, another with chocolate ganache.

They both tasted good to my delight. The cupcake was soft with just the right amount of sweetness. I liked the strawberry buttercream, it had a perfect balance of sweet and sour. The icing could have been thicker though.  

The cupcake with a chocolate ganache icing tasted just as good.

Seeing all those donuts I couldn’t go home without buying one. I got my favorite Go Nuts’s flavor, Pastillas de leche (Php 30). I heard it is the bestseller and I think I know exactly why. In fact it could easily rival the donuts of Krispy Kreme… it is that good. It is sweet and the thick creamy filling inside is totally delightful.  

That’s it. Just thought of sharing my one moment of weakness.

My Technical Writing Training

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Sorry my dear readers (here’s me assuming that I got at least one or two) if you haven’t been hearing from me lately. I haven’t had much time (or money for that matter) to do my little adventures because I’d been busy learning something. In three months time, I am hoping to add technical writing in my list of skills.  

Last January 24, I accepted the job offer of ESS Manufacturing Company, Inc., (EMCI) a Knowledge Process Outsource and an ISO certified company in Ayala, Makati, for a Technical Writer position. It involves a three-month training which would hopefully turned me and the other 20 trainees into effective and excellent technical writers. Our training officially started on the 1st day of February 2011 under Mr. Lito Cruz.

Writing has five categories: Creative, Descriptive, Expository, Narrative, and Persuasive. Out of the five, my stronger suit is Creative Writing, the type that entertain the readers like feature articles, blog, stories, poetry, etc. 


It is my love for writing stories and poetry that got me into taking Journalism in college. When I was still in school, I used to write tons of stories (of different genres) and poems (mostly about unrequited love and life’s frustrations). Unfortunately fate seemed to have other plans for me. After finishing a degree on B.S. Journalism from Lyceum of the Philippines in 2002, I didn’t end up becoming the Filipino version of Anne Rice or Sylvia Plath. I found myself taking jobs that involved other forms of writing: news, feature, marketing, even speech writing.

Given this, Technical Writing is obviously way out of my plans. I have always thought it to be boring so I never really wanted to have anything to do with it. As our EMCI Project Manager puts it, this involves “writing within the box,” which loosely translates to writing what is asked of you, no frills, no beating around the bush, no excitement, and colors. Technical writing must be direct to the point because its main purpose is to inform. A good example of this is that little user manual that comes with your new gadget (phone, laptop, iPod, etc.). Yes those manuals were written by actual people and they are called Technical Writers. 

I am not going to lie and say that I am thrilled, as I’ve said, technical writing is boring. But I do not regret taking this challenge either. I have just been given a chance to develop my skill, why would I say no to that? This is me taking a step ahead where my writing career is concerned.

Training was a lot like going back to school. I got a new teacher and classmates, everyday we meet from 8 to 5, with one hour recess, and 15-minute breaks. We have manuals, we take notes, discussions, individual reports, and a little bit of home works. Of course there will be a major examination which we’re all hoping to pass. 


So this is what I’d been up to for the past week. Don’t worry, come pay day I will find a new restaurant or café to visit and blog about.