A Post Valentine Dinner and Concert

A month ago, the hubby and I went to the post Valenting dinner-concert of The Chocolate Kiss Cafe.  It also coincided with its 15th anniversary celebration.  The celebration titled Kissed! fused two things that are important to me, food and music.  Food, of course was courtesy of The Chocolate Kiss while good music was provided by Da Capo, a group of instrumentalists that became a regular feature of the restaurant since 1997.  The evening also coincided with the launch of the restaurant's involvement in Isko Cleans UP (ICU), a student movement at the University of the Philippines which aims to make UP-Diliman a "zero-waste and self-sustaining campus".  Part of the proceeds of the dinner-concert went to ICU.

We arrived at the venue, UP's Ang Bahay Alumni's Main Hall just in time for the buffet dinner.  About half of the tables and chairs was already occupied mostly by students, faculty members and loyal patrons of the restaurant.  Mini Devil's Food Cakes with flowers arrangement were used as table centerpieces.  I fell in love with the arrangement.  

Our table's centerpiece.

Table setting

An usher dressed in black pants and shirt brought us to a table just in front of the stage.  A waiter came with glasses of iced tea.  We declined it but settled for cold water instead.  Before proceeding to the green salad/appetizer station, I took pictures of the table centerpiece, the crowd, and the food stations.  Unfortunately most of my pictures did not come out nice because of the colored spotlights that bathed the stage.  Luckily for me, the restaurant's Facebook fan page posted several pictures of the occasion and I grabbed some.  Thank you The Chocolate Kiss Cafe.

Mixed Green Salad Station

Buffet Table

Piece de resistance, the dessert station

Because my husband and I were trying to cut down on our food intake, we shied away from meat dishes.  We had a plateful of mixed greens in Balsamic dressing.  For the entree, we had Chicken Kiev, my first time to taste this popular dish, and Fish Fillet with Pesto Salsa.  The latter was so good that we had second servings.  

We skipped the pasta dishes.  A lover of pasta, I had to forego eating the Carbonara and Gamberi to leave space for dessert.  We sacrificed the entrees but not the dessert. It's one of the reasons why we frequent this place.  Food and dessert have become family favorites.  

The hubby went for a slice of Date Walnut Cake, his favorite.  I opted for a cake suite of dayap chiffon cake, orange chiffon cake and prune cake.  The cake suite is composed of four squares of any of the cakes. I could have gotten more if not for my diet.

After everybody had their dinner, it was time for the program.  For the opening number, the staff of The Chocolate Kiss Cafe like waiters, cashiers, bakers, food production staff and admin staff performed a dance number that was heartwarming.  Who wouldn't be touched when you see your favorite waiter gyrating to the  beat of the music.

Dance number by the employees

After the dancing, the Da Capo serenaded us with their repertoire of classical, standard, pop, Latin and mainstream jazz music.  From the reaction of the crowd, it was safe to say that the crowd was composed of habitues of the place.  Two or three people sang with the guest singer, Gail Blanco to the accompaniment of the Da Capo.  The children of the violinist, Royce Aviguetero, played the violin and their father's face was beaming with pride at their renditions.  Another pair of guests, both 16 years old, demonstrated to us their terpsichorean talents.  Both are veteran dance sport dancers and had represented the Philippines in various international competitions.  

Da Capo with Gail Blanco

The night was still young when the program ended at ten o'clock.  Since there was nothing else to be done, my husband and I headed home, some four kilometers away.

Start a Business Without Cash

After working your butt off for many years, you try to picture yourself of having your own business.  The retirement package that you will be receiving has already been allocated to pay off the remaining balance on the mortgage of the house and lot that you call home.  A modest amount will go to the bank as fallback in the months that you are not yet earning.  You suddenly realize that after all the allocations, there’s nothing left to start a business.

People going into business including myself have the mistaken notion that only those with enough capital will succeed in business.  On the contrary, a lot of big businessmen in the Philippines today like John Gokongwei, Jr. and Henry Sy started very small.  Theirs is a story of having the vision, hard work and grit.

When circumstances leave you with no choice but to start a business even if you have no cash investment to speak of, it is better to start small with something that you know.  It could be a hobby and try to develop it from there.  If you have a flair for cooking Bicol food, you can start by selling to your natural market like friends, relatives and neighbors.  These people would love to see you succeed and they will help you spread the word about your business.  When you are done selling to your natural market, you can go online.  You can create a Facebook fan page for free for your Bicol food business to reach more people and widen your market. Creating the fan page doesn’t only help you reach other people but you can also showcase your products and accept orders.  Register your business also with Multiply and/or Cashsense and for a minimal fee, you’re on your way to an online business.  

It will also help if you work from home.  If you can spare a room or small space for the business in your house, you free yourself from paying rental which you cannot afford at the moment. 

If you don’t have a hobby that you can turn into a lucrative undertaking, you can surf the internet for “work from home” jobs.  Though a “work from home” job is considered a zero capital business, it could be risky at times.  Just be careful with the company you deal with.  Some are legitimate but sadly there are also some which are not.

Another way to go into a zero capital business is to partner with a financier.  Look for somebody who would like to earn more than what he’s earning from the bank but doesn’t have the time and expertise to attend to the business.  Since this is your business idea, it would be best that your business idea deals with what you’re good at and at the same time where your network is.  Your knowledge about a particular business or industry is the best asset you can start with.  Remember that money is not the only form of capital.  Tapping into your network using your most powerful capital, relationships with the people in your network, will pave the way for a smooth switch from employee to entrepreneur.