10 years

it was december, 2001 when i first ventured into the corporate, big, big world outside university. i shared that experience with 8 other hopeful individuals: harbie, donna, maricor, thyra, aileen, cindy, rico, and jimmy.the company was spi and it's just a tricycle ride away from home. what more could i ask for? more than proximity, it's the good experience with my batch mates that mattered. we were so diverse, with shrieking differences, yet...

#foodtripmanila - krispy kreme

krispy kreme with sola iced tea for midnight snackkrispy kreme with hot coffee for breakfasti love the glazed ones. simple yet y...

#foodtripmanila - lydia's lechon and baclaran day

before christmas, i "encouraged" mike to accompany me to baclaran to accomplish a couple of important things.1. visit our lady of perpetual help. as i have mentioned before, i have very fond memories of this church. mama Mary has been so involved in our lives in so many ways. there's always a yearning to be there.2. buy tela for my slacks na ipapatahi sa suking maxim's tailoring. i have issues with my limpak limpak na pants na nasayang just because...

#foodtripmanila - taho

i don't think any manila trip would be complete without the good, old, yummy taho. i know. there's taho here too. this is how you buy it in those fancy soy stalls here, "auntie, one bean curd with pearl, please." tastes like taho, alright... but something's not right. it tastes and sounds so clean! hahaha!in manila, every morning, you wait for manong's unforgiving wail, "tahoooooo!" and authentic manila taho is bought like this, "manong, taho...

#foodtripmanila - ice scramble

or skrambol. we bought these from sm cavite. apparently there are a lot of skrambol stalls all over the archipelago! wow! franchise stalls all over town! mike's drink had other bits and pieces of candy sprinkles. i like mine the old fashioned way (pretty much like me), just powdered milk and syrup on top. there are other toppings available, like oreo, gummy candies, etc. di ko masyadong type.when i was a kid i didn't buy much of this. maybe...

#foodtripmanila / tagaytay - lzm restaurant

omg. makaarte lang. para in!omg talaga ang lzm restaurant sa magallanes square, tsagaytsay citeeeeh!mike and his troop brought me to this heaven last 2010. we were on our way home from tali beach, batangas from the prenup, and they decided to eat lunch here. thank you, guuuys! after that first encounter, i've been back twice!and after pink sisters last dec 18, go na to lzm to eat like a... queen na lang. hehehesuper sarap ng:pic 1: giant banguspic...

off to the mountains we went

mountains talaga?dec 18 was tagaytay day with mike, ate yogi, and manang. i've always fancied going to tagaytay. after a mere 2 hour drive, you'll find yourself in a cold, nature-y haven. it's like being in a different world! away from the pollution and heat! hello to pineapples and horses and flowers and suka!fond memories of tagaytay:- HS and LCG retreats. serene talaga ang place. makes you feel closer to God. at maaalala mo talaga lahat...

ahngel and stan

dec 17, we attended the ma-chua wedding at sofitel, manila.i've always called ahngel "little girl", which is inappropriate, because she's taller than me. she doesn't look like a little girl at all, but a pretty lady!whatevs... she's still "little girl"... and the little girl finally found the happiness that's stan. i'm glad :)i think everybody deserves to be happy. you just have to find that happiness, decide that you will be happy, work hard...

mani pedi

mani pedi is such a luxury here. that's what i think. they don't even get down to the pesteng ingrown nails. but i have to commend that the foot scrubs are great and the nail color lasts for quite some time. tools are also sanitary.i had mani pedi in manila last dec. the price is crazy 150 lang, teh! nakakaaliw! ang galing pa sobra ni ate magtanggal ng ingrown :) no pain!the cheapest i found was a home service mani pedi at php 50 in aklan!...

God never fails

"have i ever failed you?"so says the voice inside my head. i have always been afraid of tomorrow. i have always worried.i have always feared. if i could only have that tiny drop of faith and trust...that each day will be beautiful. it may not be cozy all the time, but my God will be here,because He is faithful that way.why can't i be?"in God we trust"so says the sign on a cityland tower in makati.even an inanimate building has something like this etched on it.why can't i have it too?NO. YOU HAVE NEVER FAILED ME, FATHER. THANK Y...

#foodtripmanila - balikbayan staples

sinong balikbayan ang hindi natatakam sa mga fast food / restaurants na 'to? susme!max's nothing beats max's chicken. a friend shared the recipe for max's chicken.  we tried it... pwede, pero di sing sarap ng manok ni mang max. hehehe. caramel bars, to die for din! we ate at max's on our way to manila from tarlac last dec 26. sa highway :pmcdowalang burger mcdo sa sg, but i never got the chance to order burger mcdo in manila.  we...

home

dec 16 - i went with wawin to visit our "home" in paranaque. it was a fun ride at the bus and jeep. more of pollution and dust and traffic frenzy. :p we got there eventually, and i was shocked.the once cozy home is now rented out to bed spacers, 6 ladies (i think). they are occupying 3 of 4 bedrooms, plus access to the dining room, kitchen, and half of the living room.the house is a mess. it wasn't a richy rich, martha stewart house before,...

#foodtripmanila - sari-saring ulam at crazy appetite

still at wawin's place in makati, there's this eatery called crazy appetite. it's basically a clean turo-turo with nice tables, chairs, and lamps.they showcase the dishes on nice serving platters too. on pic: corned beef, liver steak, and beef something. again, food is tasty, variety is good too, but i wish wawin would not eat here (read: out) on a daily basis....

#foodtripmanila - cheese burger pizza bar from mini stop

when i stayed at makati for 2 nights, wawin recommended this pizza bar from mini stop for breakfast. this is just one of the instant meals you could get from mini stop. i say it's very tasty. wawin has become an expert of instant-meals-scouting. hmmm... that's not a good news, though. i learned that there are also canned meals available in groceries, and by meals they mean rice and ulam - in a can! sounds like kaning-pig? hehe. whatever happened...

#foodtripmanila - burger machine roast beef and sans rival

when we were kids, we would have BM for merienda. papa would always have roast beef and the kids would have bart burger. i marvelled at how the BM lady would prepare (read: reheat) the roast beef in that tin container on the stove. it looked so yummy. i never asked papa if i could taste the roast beef because all the while, i thought that roast beef burgers are for papas, and not for kids.i'm not saying that bart burgers are not yummy! in fact,...

#foodtripmanila

we were in manila for the december holidays. i took some shots of food that we missed and tagged them as #foodtripmanila in twitter. it was fun! i was never the artistic photographer type. the goal is just to document the yum and the gum (huh).so here they are, in all their majesty. the following posts will document the food feast....

mainit ang dugo

ca. 1989, we were in baguio with some family friends - papa's friends and their kids. i think there were 4 kids: me, kuya, alvin, and mark. the slumber during the first night was peaceful. when we woke up, i was covered with insect bites. from. head. to. toe.alvin was the annoying type. he looked at me, laughed, and said, "yuck may bulutong!"i remember the evil grin. i remember holding back the tears with all my might while picking up pine cones (that we wanted to bring home to manila. pine cones are cool!).i don't know what i have in my...