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, but it's just in a complete disarray now. the floor is dirty, the sink is beyond words. there are plastic bags hooked everywhere. i don't know what's inside those bags.

i lived there for 27 years. i grew up and grew old in that house. that house was a silent witness to new life on 1980 when i was born, and again on 1986 when wawin was born. it was also a witness to sadness on the death of lola, papa, and lolo. the walls practically heard and absorbed all our laughters and tears. the house met a lot of characters from friendships and past relationships. it survived numerous attacks of earthquake, storm, flood. if it survived the mighty ones, then it's a mighty one!

i once believed that we had a big and pangmayamang house until i visited my HS classmates' houses :p it was a pangmahirap house pala mwehehe. still, it was our home!

i didn't try to take pictures. i didn't have the heart to have that remembrance.

the other half of the living room is now wawin's comp shop. pic below.

we also visited the Sto. Nino chapel. pic below. at least, it's still the same serene chapel :) still feels right. incidentally, it was the feast of Sto. Nino last sunday. mami was in pque for the fiesta. she said she felt sad when she heard mass, remembering times when we were still complete, hearing mass and spending time together at home.

memories!!!!

#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 to meals lovingly prepared by moms or lolas?

anyway, here's the wrapper. jejejeje.

#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, it's a shame they stopped selling this burger! it was the 2nd thing i looked for when we were in that dimly lit BM stall last december. first choice was roast beef!

i heard that BM has just recently put back roast beef into their menu, and it's all good! it was juicy and beefy and delicious.

the sans rival, well, came from the ref. that ref that contains everything they need to operate a BM stall. so buttery, semi-crunchy, not too sweet, so good!

ps: i'm a lousy food critic because every stuff that's edible just tastes good to me. :)

#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 blood that attracts mosquitoes and other insects that bite. sometimes i don't even see insects, and yet i get bites! why?

it would just be me. all the time. when we were in manila last christmas, it happened again. we slept in mike's room and i got these bites on my legs, tummy, neck. though it wasn't as bad as the bulutong incident, it was still bad and so itchy. plus it comes with the pesteng peklats.

my cousin says i have warm blood. fine. mosquitoes, come and get me!

year 1

a year has passed.

we have experienced a lot this year.

we are continuously learning each day.

we aim to continue to love, accept, and piss off each other :p

we are thankful for the bountiful meals that we have eah day.

we are thankful for the fruitful talks, and sometimes, the absence of it.

a lot of things are uncertain. unstable. one thing remains constant - we are here to stay, and, as mama says, to always have each other.

portraits and gifts :)