Keys to Katie

As a proud member of the crazy Asian community, I will be introducing you to my top 10 favorite Filipino foods. This week's entry is inspired by the Jollibee incident of 2021. Context: the Westfield mall in Wheaton recently opened a Jollibee, which is a popular Filipino restaurant. We immediately picked up the phone to order, and we were put on hold, forced to listen to a song worse than Baby Shark (yes, it was that bad), for 45 minutes. Finally, when we were able to order, I asked for halo halo, only to discover THEY DON'T SERVE HALO HALO AT THAT LOCATION. In conclusion, we have yet to find some good Filipino food in Maryland. Note II : Click on this  link  to hear the song I had to suffer through for an hour Note : Almost every Filipino dish is eaten with rice. Not the tiny sticky rice dome they serve at Outback Steakhouse, but a lot of rice.  10. Adobo Adobo is the unofficial national dish of the Philippines. It is usually chicken or pork cooked in a sauce with vinegar...

From Stephen King horror novels, to Stephanie Meyer romances, to JK Rowling fantasies, to classics like Great Expectations, I've read almost any genre there is. However, I take quite a significant interest in historical fiction. Specifically, books about the Holocaust. I'm not sure what exactly I find so compelling about these books. It might be the terrifying fact that the events of the Holocaust really happened in a real place to real people. Reading a gory fictional thriller is never truly scary, when I know it isn't real. That might be why books based on events of the Holocaust tend to invoke a real fear. A cold, blood-curdling fear that no Stephen King novel could replicate. Without further ado, here are my top 5 favorite Holocaust novels. Fair Warning: These books can be extremely graphic, and I cried reading every single one of them.  5. Maus: Art Spiegelman Maus is a graphic novel, written and illustrated by Art Spiegelman. The story follows Spiegelman's intervi...

Get out your jumpsuits and legwarmers; we're going back to the 80s! I am a huge fan of classic 80s music, so here are some of the most renowned names and songs of the music industry, ranked from 5 to 1. 5. Cyndi Lauper  Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - 1983 Time After Time - 1983 Cyndi Lauper is a full-out 80s icon with her wacky hair and never-ending jewelry. Her extroverted personality screams "Yolo," just like her biggest hit, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Almost every sleepover I've ever been to has had this song playing in the background at some point.  4. Bonnie Tyler Total Eclipse of the Heart - 1983 (this music video cracks me up, but the song is on fire) Holding Out for a Hero - 1984 While Jim Steinman produced both Total Eclipse of the Heart and Holding Out for a Hero, it was Bonnie Tyler's unique vocal chords that brought them to life. I was first introduced to Holding Out for a Hero after watching the fairy godmother's performance in Shrek 2.  3. Elton Joh...

That fuzzy sensation when on the verge of sleep is exactly how one would feel after watching a Ghibli movie. They seem to transport you to a universe somewhere between dreaming and consciousness. Founded by director Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli films have always been my escape to a world of magic, whether it be underwater, in a city, or on a countryside. Here are my all-time favorite Studio Ghibli films ranked from 5 to 1. 5. Castle in the Sky  When two orphans, Sheeta and Pazu, befriend one another, they search for Laputa, a mythical city in the sky. However, the journey proves to be dangerous, as the the children are pursued by a greedy family of pirates. Fun fact: If you've ever wondered why iron golems in Minecraft hold out flowers to villagers, the notion was based on the robots of Laputa from Castle in the Sky. Castle in the Sky Robot 4. Howl's Moving Castle After a young girl is cursed with old age by the Witch of the Waste, she sets off to find a way to break the curs...

Food is life! There is nothing more satisfying than a bag of greasy, fast food fries. My family and I have traveled across the country twice, trying out all kinds of new foods and restaurants. Here are some of my all-time favorites, ranked from ten to one.  Note : My dad is allergic to red meats such as beef and pork, so I have excluded predominantly burger places. 10. Sonic Drive-In If you've never been to a drive-in restaurant, Sonic is a great place to start. With candy flavored milkshakes and roller skating employees, it sends off huge 80s vibes. While my siblings usually devour Sonic's foot-long chili dogs, I'd recommend their honey barbeque popcorn chicken. 9. IHOP Who doesn't love the International House of Pancakes?! Just the smell of bacon and eggs in the morning is mouth watering. I often let my greed take over and order much more than I can actually eat. Their pancakes are enourmous. 8. Subway When I was younger, my dad would come home from work every day hol...