JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

The best time to read your horoscope is the following day, so you can see if it was correct. Otherwise there is the danger of the self-fulfilling prophecy: you read a dire prediction, you get all worked up, and in your anxiety you make the direness happen. This morning I stumbled onto my horoscope without meaning to—fortunately it said “a generous and delicious conjunction of loving Venus and lucky Jupiter”.

Today’s earrings: Our Lady of Guadalupe. Ricky found them in Bangkok. On a churchgoer they would not look unusual; on me they’re ironic.

I had a chore in Salcedo Village near my friends’ office, so I dragged them out to lunch. Chuck had the lengua, I had the lamb stew, Noel the callos, Don the callos, and Boboy the callos. What delightful smells emanate from the kitchen at Terry’s Selection—you can feel your hips growing as you inhale. Lunchtime conversation included the dangers of parking by the pier, bad customer service, excellent customer service (Boboy called Manila Water because their water pressure was so low it was like the faucet in Lino Brocka’s Insiang. Not only did the Manila Water repair crew arrive in one hour, but they fixed the problem quickly. Bravo.) and the news that Nora Aunor is now in Japan for cosmetic surgery. When she makes her comeback, she will look like. . .Vilma Santos! Kidding. We’re all fans of Nora and Vilma, and Noel can give you a lecture on their different approaches to acting.

Vegetable terrine and Chicken liver pate at La Cuisine.

My friends had to go back to the office, which is the trouble with being gainfully employed, whereas I can be lured away from work for no reason at all. Rene called just as our check arrived and said he was down the street at La Cuisine with Michelle. I joined them, allegedly for coffee, but Michelle started plying us with food and it would’ve been ungracious to decline. We tried a new item on the menu: Vegetable terrine. Knowing of my aversion to vegetables had it served with chicken liver pate. Did you know that parsley is not only edible but delicious?

The baby Piper Heidsieck and stuffed animals. I got the rhino and the giraffe; Rene the giraffe and the baboon that was anatomically incorrect because its butt wasn’t big and red.

On Valentine’s La Cuisine had a Piper Heidsieck promo: Buy a bottle, get a mini-bottle and a stuffed animal free. I whined until I got a baby champagne bottle, plus stuffed animals. This time the conversation was about the nature of luck. In my case I can never make major long-term plans because they tend to go kaput. However if I just do what I always do with no thought of rewards or consequences, I get lucky.

Next item on the lunch menu: Beef cheeks braised in beer and served with mashed potatoes. Fantastic! I forgot to take a photo. For dessert: Nougat ice cream with walnuts and ginger. So no one was having any supper, it was worth it.

Nougat ice cream with walnuts and ginger

La Cuisine is on the corner of Sedeño and San Agustin Streets, Salcedo Village Makati, near Makati Sports. Telephone 5015202 or 7520335. We’re planning dinner plus movie nights on the Mondays of March, I’ll let you know.

It was 12 noon when I sat down to lunch; when I next looked at my watch it was 4pm. On the way home I dropped by Books for Less in case some rare book had appeared on the shelves. Found these for a total of P157. They should vacuum more often, though.

A Madeline and a Mary Renault

Amount of work done by 6pm: None. I blame my horoscope for forecasting “generous and delicious”. But there are worse things.