Throw A Tea Party

Tea. Most of us have it when we dine in Chinese restos or when we have sore throats or want to loosen our bowels. Tea is not engraved in our daily lives unlike in other cultures; and thus makes for some interesting get-togethers whenever it is available. More importantly, when it becomes the star of the party, it could provide a different partyphile experience for the common Pinoy partyphile.

Quite understandably, Pinoys are not too familiar with the tradition of high tea or even the concept of tea as a celebratory drink, or a drink to act as a social lubricant; we all run to alcohol for that in this country. More importantly, a lot of Filipinos shy away from tea aprties because they think it is too much work, too formal, or too prissy. We pinoys appreciate no-frills partying after all. But since partyphiles would want to switch it up every so often, a tea party would be a perfect option. The good news is, you may throw a tea party with no frills. Here’s how:

Tea: Tea is available everywhere. You may get your stock from coffeeshops, from groceries, or from speciality stores. However, if you want to have a lot of tea options, you may ask all the party’s attendees to bring their own stash. Steep tea bags in tea pots instead of individual cups to have a taste of all the teas you have. And by the way, the English have their tea with some milk and honey; and although this sounds a wee bit odd for Pinoys who are used to Chinese tea, I swear it tastes soo good. You might want to try it.

Food: Ask all your guests to bring some pasties or sweets with them. Even simple food like cookies, macaroons, and donuts would do well; no matter how un-British they are. Again, Filipinos love no-frills partying. I think, as long as it tastes good with tea, you could most definitely serve it. You do not have to follow British Tea parties to a tee; all you need it for is a little inspiration.

Mood: Since teacups and tea pots are usually pretty and dainty, you could run with this and decorate your table with everything girly and light. You may go with pastel colors and add some cute knick knacks like painted eggs and butterflies or go all white with tea light candles, white table cloths, napkins, and white flowers to keep the table looking clean but not boring. But you may experiment with different decors as well.

Music: Simply play music that suits your fancy. For our last tea party, we played some chill-out house music. I doubt this is what old British matrons listen to when having their tea; but again, throwing parties is all about having fun, and house music, for my group of friends, is fun.

Indoors or Outdoors: The choice is up to you. Although it would definitely be nice to have some tea while the sun is kissing your face, it would be equally nice with air condition. The choice is all up to you.

Games: You could play something lazy like bingo or checkers and give the winner a tea set. This just adds a little more fun factor for your party.

I hope you enjoy your tea party, as we enjoyed our last one. I must admit that Tanduay Ice quickly replaced our teas that night; it still made for a fun experience. So boil some water, steep some tea, invite your friends, and prepare for a different kind of party. P.S. I hope you get through yours without craving for alcohol like we did.

Catch Confessions of a Partyphile (the radio show) every Wednesday evenings from 6 to 9 on 105.9 Mix FM or www.mixfm1059.com. Follow the columnist on twitter.com/zhaun or add facebook.com/confessionsofapartyphile on Facebook. For comments, suggestions, and more confessions from this partyphile, log on to http://party.i.ph

Hangover Tips

5.) While drinking, choose lighter colored drinks than darker colored ones. For example, choose vodka instead of rum. Darker tinted spirits contain higher levels of congeners, which is toxic to humans.

4.) Avoid caffeine like coffee or tea. It will make you more dehydrated and might cause you to get dizzy

3.) Drinks loads and loads of water. This will keep you hydrated. If you prefer sports drinks, you can drink that too, but it will give the same effect as water.

2.) Eat eggs. They have a substance that fights hangovers and they are easy to prepare even with a headache.

1.) You only suffer from hangovers the morning after you stop drinking. The best solution: never stop drinking.

Geek Chic: Designer Glasses In Style

Geeks. A lot of people hate them; a lot of people love them. I Personally think, chic geeks are hot. And it seems like a lot of people agree because wearing eye glasses is now becoming a trend across the globe for young people, and even hot partyphiles!

There is just something sexy about hiding behind a pair of designer eyeglasses. It adds mystery to the wearer, as well as gives an air of intellect to them. Eyeglasses make people look smarter, and with the right frame, a lot cooler. This is more true when designer eyewear is juxtaposed with really rugged, urban clothing. A leather jacket, a bonnet, and a graphic tee would definitely look good when paired with glasses.

These days, it seems like it does not even matter if you need the glasses to actually see better, or if you are just wearing them for fashion’s sake. The only thing that matters is that the pair you are wearing fits your face. This is why you must choose a store that sells a wide array designer eyeglasses that are sure to fit your look, style, or mood.

So what are you waiting for? Grab some glasses, and rock the geeky-chic look!

Drink of the Week: Tea Tini

Since we are celebrating Boil and Brew Day, I'm giving out a recipe for the Tea Tini: a refreshing cocktail with 2 simple ingredients: Iced Tea and Vodka.

All you have to do is shake equal amounts of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain it over a Martini glass. Serve.

If you like Coffee more than you like Tea, you might want to try out the Black Russian. Simply shake one part Kahlua and two parts Vodka in a shaker with ice and strain it over a rocks glass with ice. Serve

February 23 is Boil and Brew Day

February 23 is Boil and Brew Day! So gather all your closest friends and have a coffee and tea party complete with pastries and sweets.

Alex de Rossi: Wala kang kaagaw sa balat ng lechon

Hyku: freedom

Dutch: Not having to tolerate another’s annoying habits

Nikki Lumayno: You don't get your heart broken!! And plus! You don't have to worry about anything on valentines day.

Indah (Indonesia): You feel a lot more free, you do not have to worry about people controlling you to be who they want you to be

Columnist Rudolph Alama: having the freedom to meet other fellow singles

Jefferson Zabala (Cebu) : Independence

Che blanco: We're free to do anything and everything we want! :) -- without asking permission from the uyab!

Toneth cabinbin: You are free. You don’t have anything holding you down or back.

JM reyes: FINANCIAL SAVINGS. No dates, no gifts, no freebies to your partner.

Nicole tiolengco: you can date anyone you like. :)

Advantages of Being Single

Love is definitely in the air; sappy love songs are blasted off the airwaves, our favorite cafes are filled with paper hearts, scattered all around our malls are styrofoam hearts that seem to have been bathed in red glitters, we receive a dozen heart-shaped pillows on our Facebook walls, and our friends start wearing matching pink and red ensembles. For somebody attached, this would be a welcome experience; something that would help them get in the mood for the love month.

For one who is single, it is a whole different story. It makes them realize how desperately single they are, and how there isn’t a place for their breed during this month. Singletons retaliate by telling everybody how much they hate V-Day; balloons, flowers, chocolates and all. But the truth remains that all they hate is the feeling that they can’t truly get into the season because they don’t have a passport to go to Lovesville a.k.a a partner. To make up for it, here are some things to remind you, my dear singleton partyphile, how lucky you are to be single.

Advantages of Being Single

1.) Girls Say: You can watch all the chick flicks you want, without having to worry about that twerp who rolls his eyes every single time you are about to tear up.

Guys Say: You can watch all the Sci-Fi movies you like without worrying about that twerp who feels the need to remind you that everything you find cool about the movie is phony and can’t happen in real life.

2.) Girls Say: You could stop minding the toilet seat for once in your life. You can actually sit in it without worrying about sitting on piss.

Guys Say: You could leave the toilet seat up without having to come back to the rest room to put it back down.

3.) Girls Say: You could choose from all the guys who would want to drive you home after a long night of partying.

Guys Say: You could drive straight home after a long and tiring night of partying.

4.) Girls Say: You could forget about birth control.

Guys Say: You could fool around as much as you want.

5.) Girls: You could accept all those free drinks from hot (or not-so-hot) guys you meet while out partying.

Guys: You could spend all your money on booze for yourself. Only.

6.) Girls Say: You could wear your favorite bikinis without having to answer to anyone.

Guys Say: You could ogle at your favorite girls in bikinis without having to answer to anyone.

7.) Girls Say: You could text all the cute boys you like.

Guys: You actually HAVE money to buy load to text all the cute girls you like.

8.) Girls Say: You could do whatever you want, when you want to do it.

Guys Say: Ditto to that.

9.) Girls Say: You could focus on your career, your education, your fitness, and your passions.

Guys Say: You could focus on that hot chick from the gym that you have always had your eye on.

10.) Girls Say: You do not have to listen to snoring and farting all night.

Guys Say: You do not have to worry about getting cookie crumbs on the bed.

11.) Girls Say: You can stay in the shower for as long as you want.

Guys Say: You can have the remote all to yourself, without having to change the channel to “important” stuff like News of Koreanovelas.

12.) Girls Say: You do not have to worry about being nice to your mother-in-law

Guys Say: You do not have to worry about being nice to her annoying best friend who has a habit of criticizing everything you do.

13.) Girls Say: You can wear Granny panties without having to explain to anyone.

Guys Say: You can wear your favorite jeans (that you has managed to stay unwashed for a month) without having to explain to anyone.

14.) Girls Say: You can party all you want.

Guys Say: You can party all you want.

Drink of the Week: Cosmpolitan

The Cosmopolitan is definitely the Single Woman's favorite cocktail. It is sexy, yummy, and does the job of getting you tipsy enough to dance freely across the floor. Here is how you make it:

In a shaker filled half-way with ice, combine:

1 oz vodka

1/2 oz triple sec

1/2 lime

1/2 oz cranberry juice

Shake. Strain. Serve in a martini glass. Garnish with a wedge of lime, lemon, or orange

Top 5 Reasons to Stay Home During Valentines If You’re Single

5. Every place you go to will be jam-packed with people. More importantly, it will be jam-packed with happy couples. This will make you feel like a loser. Stay home.

4. If you are date-less, you are probably going out with your friends. This will just remind all of you that you are al single, and that you are losers. Stay home.

3. If you are single during Valentines, you are probably going out with a friend who is also single. You know you will never date your friend again after V-day. This will make you feel like a user. More importantly, it will make you feel like a loser. Stay home.

2. If you are single during Valentines Day and have no guts to ask someone out, you are probably going to bribe one of your single friends with free dinner. This will just make you feel used. It will also make you feel like a loser. Stay home.

1. If you are single and date-less during Valentines, you are probably going out with your family or parents. This will just remind you that only your parents can ever love you. This will make you feel sad. It will also make you feel like a loser. Stay home.

V-Day Disappointments (It’s Not A Happy Season)

Valentines Day happened during Monday of this week. By the time you would be able to read this, Valentines Day would have become a figment of the past. And how I wish to get there sooner.

The truth is, Valentines Day is not light on people who are not in relationships. In fact, it puts a strain on the weak of heart to try to find a date, any date, during that day. But of course, we already know about that… especially if you are like me, who has been single since birth.

I’ve spent twenty-four date-less Valentines in the past, and it seems like it is not getting any easier to cope with. The truth is, when I think about Valentines Day, I think about it as its romanticized self. I think about Valentines and I am automatically brought to a place filled with red cartolina hearts, little images of that imaginary little angel we call cupid, and little pieces of annoying red glitter. These days, Valentines seems to be as generic as the little black dress.

This is exactly why a lot of couples strive to give each other something extraordinary, something “unique”, every time this red-letter day comes along. And therein lays the problem. Valentines Day has been repeated each and every year, thus couples have started to run out of ideas. They have run out of things to surprise their significant others with. They have run out of reasons to pretend to be surprised. They have run out of things to look forward to, and basically, they have run out of gift options. And even though you could always check the internet for new gift ideas, the thing is, if you did not come up with it, is it really your gift?

Is it really a gift, if you are giving it because you feel like you are required by society to do so? My point is familiarity defeats inspiration. Because Valentines Day seems to creep up on our consciousness sooner than we think (each and every year) it has become too familiar. Memories of Valentines-past are still sort of fresh and familiar; and this makes it difficult to actually feel inspired about the day.

So how does this involve me, or any other singleton out there? Simple. We, just like the couples who are running out of V-day ideas, are running out of ways to keep ourselves occupied during this holiday. Trust me, I’ve tried joining the family for V-Day dinner; I felt like a loser. I’ve tried group dating; we all felt like losers. I tried pretending to date a friend for the sake of having a date during V-Day; I felt like a loser and a user. And I’ve agreed to go out with a broke friend who wanted to go out on V-day; I felt like a loser, and felt like I was used.

So the question is, why do we try to imagine ourselves having the time of our lives during Valentines? Why do we set ourselves up for disappointment by expecting an extra-special holiday? Why do we insist that February 14 should be, must be, one of the most special days of the year? Why? I do not know for sure. Maybe we are all just a little too idealistic. But the truth remains that Valentines Day has the ability to make one really, really sad. And even if you are on a date with your loved one; it seems like your expectations are hardly met. Again, Valentines Day has the ability to disappoint us, no matter what we do, no matter who are, and no matter if we are attached or single.

Even the day after Valentines, Single Awareness Day, disappoints me. Do we really need a day to make us aware that we are single? I thought that was what Valentines Day was about! It seems like everything surrounding V-Day is a total pain in the behind. Yes, this may sound like the Confessions of a Bitter Single; but I truly find that for everybody, V-day is a disappointment. How come?

Again, I can not answer that for sure. But I think the reason why we all set ourselves up for disappointment during Feb 14 is because we do not truly understand that Valentines is all about love; all forms, types, levels, and ways of it. It is about being in love, showing love, and feeling love. Valentines Day may be romantic, or it may be friendly. It may be an opportunity to show your love for your child, or parent, or that long lost friend. Valentines Day is all about love in all its wonderful splendour, the type that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside; and not the one described in all those Hallmark cards. And until you realize that, dear partyphile, your Valentines will be disappointing little messes.

Catch Confessions of a Partyphile (the radio show) every Wednesday evenings from 6 to 9 on 105.9 Mix FM or www.mixfm1059.com. Follow the columnist on twitter.com/zhaun or add facebook.com/confessionsofapartyphile on Facebook. For comments, suggestions, and more confessions from this partyphile, log on to http://party.i.ph

Drink of the Week: Rainy Night

Since we are celebrating National Umbrella Day, I'm giving out a recipe for the Rainy Night. This cocktail recipe is fast and simple, and tastes great too! here is how you make it:

In a shaker, combine:

* Two shots of vodka

* half a shot of dry vermouth

* one shot of lemon juice.

Shake until all the ingredients are combined and strain over your preferred glass.

December 10 is National Umbrella Day

Today is National Umbrella Day! So gather all your friends, put out a garden umbrella, and drink cocktails under the stars. Oh, and don't forget those little cocktail umbrellas.

Davao's Ultimate Partyphile,

Zhaun Ortega

V-Day Gift Suggestions

Valentines Day is just around that heart-shaped corner and everyone is starting to plan about what they’ll do during the day of Hallmark cards and over-priced dinners. It sees like everyone who has ever been in a relationship has received everything in the Valentine’s Day aisle at your friendly neighbourhood department store. This obviously puts some amount of pressure on love birds who prefer to give out unique gifts that would surprise their partner. We all know how heart warming a surprise can be; and this is exactly why everyone seems to be in search of the “best V-Day gift”. Unfortunately, if you are going for the whole element of surprise, you must be really REALLY creative. Trust me, you can’t find anything “surprising” at the mall. And because I know most of you partyphiles are too drunk to think of really creative gift ideas for the season, here are some of my suggestions.

1.) If you know your girl/boyfriends friends, and know their significant others, why not give them a bundled gift like a weekend get-away to some exciting location? For example, you can ask all your girlfriend’s girl friends’ boyfriends to pitch in, and then book a flight for the girls. This will definitely yield shrieks of joy from all the girls, and might just get you lucky on Va-Day. Just remember to book a flight after V-Day so you could wine and dine her on the fourteenth.

2.) Plan a whole day affair with your significant other. Start out by taking them to breakfast at some resort so you could enjoy the sunrise together. Then, enjoy the resort amenities and squeeze in a relaxing massage. Take her back to the city and see a movie together then have dinner at some swanky place. End the night with romance and up the sexy ante in your boudoir with strategically placed flower petals and candles. No matter how materialistic your significant other is, s/he will definitely enjoy the fact that you gave him/her all your time for one day.

3.) Bring on the mush. Write your significant other a poem or a song and put it in a scrapbook with all your favorite photos together. If you aren’t exactly a literary genius, ask all of your significant other’s friends and family to list down the reasons why they love him/her. Then, put it in a scrapbook and attach your own personal message at the end. This should read something like “if all of these people love you because of all these reasons, how can I not?” or something to that effect.

4.) If you are the no-frills type, and your significant other does not really enjoy mush; then you might want to get something practical. Couples shirts are the most common choice, but if you want something a little more unique, you can get couples clocks, couples pillow cases, or maybe even couples underwear. These items may be personalized in several shops in the metro.

5.) Support your partner’s addiction. One of the sweetest thoughts is to know that you significant other knows exactly what you like, and the things and activities you appreciate. Give him/her something s/he can use for her favorite sport or hobby.

Catch Confessions of a Partyphile on the radio every Wednesday evenings, from 6 to 9 on 105.9 mix fm. Follow the columnist at twitter.com/zhaun. For comments, suggestions, and more confessions from this partyphile, log on to http://party.i.ph

Top 5 Ways to Be Lucky in the Party Scene for the Year of the Rabbit

• Because Red is the color of prosperity, order drinks in the color: Red Horse, Red Margarita, Red Ales, Bloody Mary, Singapore Sling, Cosmopolitan, Strawberry Daiquiri—they are all sure to give you luck for the Chinese New Year! More importantly, they are sure to get you drunk.
• For the New Year, think of the phrase “out with the old and in with the new”. Buy some new threads, and give your party closet an overhaul. This will hopefully give you a lot of positive attention in the party scene; and we all know it’s always good to stand out.
• We all know that fruits can give us prosperity and good luck in the Chinese New Year. If you want to get really lucky, make some drunken water melons and apples by scoring holes in the fruits and then pouring vodka inside the hole. Let the alcohol set, slice the fruit and enjoy getting drunk on fruit!
• Share the Good Vibes. If you give out good vibes at the start of the year, it is bound to breed on itself and return to you ten fold.
• Rabbits are known to be meek and mild; so try to be non-confrontational in the party scene. More importantly, try to be as naughty as the rabbit. It would surprise you to know how much better people would treat you after a little flirting in the party scene. Ssssh. But don’t tell anyone I told you!

Drink of the Week: Jack Rabbit

Since we are celebrating the start of the year of the rabbit, I have decided to give out a cocktail named the Jack Rabbit! Here is how you make it:

In a shaker filled half-way with ice, pour:

* Two shots of brandy

* half an ounce of lemon juice

*half an ounce of orange juice

* half an ounce of maple syrup

Shake in a shaker and pour over a martini glass

February 2 is the Start of the Chinese New Year

Welcome to the year of the rabbit, partyphiles! Celebrate the Chinese New Year with a bang by partying with us tonight at Starr for Partyphile Meets The Party Animal! See you at 9 pm!