I brought my sketch kit with me but the lighting in our condo unit is terrible. I’ll probably do some sketching tomorrow when we get to my mom’s house. But right now I have to pass the time writing, as is my wont when my hands get fidgety. I think I slept for four hours this afternoon so I guess I have to suffer the consequences.
I’m loving my iPad setup. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Our condo unit, however, is ok and has higher ceilings than normal SM developments, which are like being in plain boxes.
Living room with a giant tv that doesn’t have any use at all. Photo by CallMeCreation.comThe sliding doors leading to the ground floor balcony. Twin A finishing her Kumon worksheet while her cousin’s tablet is just nearby. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Told my daughter she can only play with the tablet after she finishes all the worksheets.
Dining area and kitchen. Photo by CallMeCreation.comStairs leading to the bedrooms. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
If this unit is in the city, this is not so bad for the three of us. This is roughly the same size as our current apartment but this has two bathrooms, however, the one on the ground floor is tiny. This also has a balcony next to the master bedroom. The bigger bathroom upstairs can house a washing machine.
In the words of my children, the entire Pico de Loro resort is fancy but they like the rustic charm of the resorts in Anilao. They’re not enamored of the sandy beach; they like the corals and rocky shores of Anilao. They said, mommy, if we have money, can we have a rest house in Anilao? I said, we must not spend so much on frivolous things so we can save for a rest house. LOL as if I can but maybe, who knows?
I took several passengers with me while I paddled for two hours around the cove. My sister, who took the picture using the best of her Samsung’s zooming power, was praying that we don’t drift into the open sea. She thought we weren’t in control of the kayak but it’s just my mom and I were more adventurous than she thought.
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
First I took Twin A with me but she got tired and then we went back to shore after one lap around the cove. Then it was Twin I’s turn, who was more interested in the jetski-pulled water-something ride. Of course she can’t ride that because there is a height/age requirement. She was put out and didn’t want to kayak that far.
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
When it was my mom’s turn, she wanted to go farther. If only we could go near the cliffs, we would but we were warned that the rocks there are sharp and our kayak may get sliced.
So for two hours we just did laps around the cove and burned ourselves to a crisp.
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I wasn’t able to bring the diving gear from the car, which was parked at the country club, which was a bit of a distance. So we decided to cool off at the country club pools. And got burned some more.
Diving forgotten. I slept the rest of the day. 🙄
Anyway, the corals aren’t great based on ocular inspection from above the kayak.
I was so tired that I fell asleep on this:
Comfy. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I’m going to get me one like this in our new home. ❤️
But of course this is hardly the best place to sleep if you just got toasted. Went to sleep inside our cold cave of a room in the two-bedroom condo we rented in Pico de Loro. Now, as a consequence, I wasn’t able to wake up in time for cycling around the lagoon.
But then I’m still tired, brown, and aching.
Today’s words of wisdom are brought to you by Instagram again.
Not impressed by the beach and yet the access to this entire resort complex is by membership only, ergo, expensive. 🙄 The beaches in Maricaban are much better than this…Bantayan island is 100x better.
Anyway, we lacked sleep so we didn’t attempt any freediving today plus there are jetskiing dudes around.
What my girls did is they buried their aunt alive to pass the time.
Photo by CallMeCreation.com Photo by CallMeCreation.com I just watched them from afar. Photo by CallMeCreation.com Somebody needs to watch the bags. Because mommy.
Need to sleep early tonight to adjust my body clock again. Tomorrow I will attempt to walk around the lagoon before kayaking and diving. Not really sure about the quality of diving here though.
Today’s life quotes are brought to you by Instagram Reels.
Yesterday morning, my neighbors’ cars were towed by the MMDA traffic patrol for obstruction of sidewalks. My neighbors’ landlady was so angry about the whole commotion, telling the traffic patrol group that they were not illegally parked because that was a designated parking area for her tenants. The problem, however, is that the parking slots were too short so the SUVs parked there ate up the sidewalk. So the video here showed some of my neighbors’ SUVs being towed away.
Whooops! They were towed again today.
Good thing I was parked inside the compound after my car repairs were done.
Meanwhile, the new national security advisor of Marcos Jr wants the US, Europe, and Japan to impose a trade embargo on us with her pronouncements. The witch.
As a lawyer-friend said: “You can’t possibly be neutral if you’re pivoting to one belligerent. The principal right of the neutral nation is that of inviolability; its principal duties are those of abstention and impartiality (the Hague III, Art 2, law on neutrality).”
The problem with these narcissists is that they think we are among the big guys that whatever we do has weight. Nope, we’re just mosquitos and trade embargoes will kill us.
I’ve loaded the food and drinks at the back of the car, the fins and snorkel sets, and the diving buoy. I’m busy packing now but my bossy cat, Kimchi, doesn’t want me to go.
Look at that angry face, Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I thought I could bring the bikes with us since we would be heading straight to my hometown after this. Nope. Our stuff wouldn’t fit.
Which brings me to the point that a sedan wouldn’t really do us any good since we usually go for outdoor stuff. We do a lot of driving and Philippine provincial roads do not play nice with cars with low clearance.
I saw this displayed at SM Marikina earlier this week and I thought it was roomy enough for us.
The two backseat rows fold flat for cargo, which is great because I haul bikes, a piano, and some furniture. More frequently than average people. Since I’m moving back to my hometown, I guess my sister-in-law and my nephew would be tagging along with us more often because my brother is lazy and doesn’t like driving.
But then again, this is the wrong time to be thinking about this. Probably when we have finally settled in our own home and we have emerged from the recession, I will revisit this Toyota Avanza.
We’re back to 1970s-kind of crisis, when petroleum had to be rationed and many children became malnourished.
I just received this press release from UNCTAD that released all my gastric juices and sent me to the bathroom. This was embargoed overnight and I was only able to tweet this later today.
UNCTAD brief: We are on the brink of the most severe global cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
UNCTAD: the current food crisis may rapidly turn into a food catastrophe of global proportions in 2023.
This is something that people tend to overlook: accessibility of food.
With supply chain issues and protectionism on the rise many worldwide will go hungry.
The World Bank earlier said that we are entering the 1970s-style stagflation. Will we see petroleum rationing and Nutribun again? https://lnkd.in/dciC32kS OMG, it is really a throwback to Marcos Sr era. WTF have we done to ourselves?
My siblings and I are chatting (via FB Messenger) about this statement by World Bank that we are entering a state of global stagflation. (And yeah, we are weird like that. We discuss marcoeconomy like we’re a bunch of experts—but then my sister is an economist and a consultant at FAO and my brother is also a nationally recognized economist whom my peers call for comments/soundbites on the economy). Anyway, there were questions whether it is smart of BSP to raise policy rates in small increments instead of going for the jugular with I-mean-business rate hikes. My brother said calibrated hikes are better for a fragile economy like ours.
You know, this is the reason why many journalists are alcoholic, in therapy, or have gastrointestinal problems. Aside from the daily stress of chasing stories and meeting deadlines, we are always the bearer of bad news like this and we can’t help but internalize the news we write. The problem of the world/the country is our problem. We can’t just tune out the bad news because that’s our job. 🙄
My mom and I will be talking about this while we bask under the sun this weekend (in true bourgeois fashion). We have to pool our funds and see how we can help the most vulnerable who need our help.
And in true bourgeois fashion, my new iPad case and keyboard that I ordered from Lazada have arrived today. It transformed my tablet that I mainly use for flicking through Pinterest and watching videos on Youtube and Netflix into a lighter laptop alternative.
Yep, it has RGB backlight. Photo by CallMeCreation.comI have too many screens now. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
So I will be leaving my Lenovo laptop (which seldom sees action) at home when we go gallivanting in Batangas and just bring this with me. It is lighter and more compact and has longer battery life. I don’t expect to write stories or edit while I’m on my break but I have to be prepared ALWAYS.
I have already downloaded MS Outlook and installed our office email and all the security authentication app that my office requires. Our IT guys are now confused why I have so many equipment registered with them (as I just upgraded my mobile phone unit this week). If I need to edit, I will edit in Outlook itself.
Anyway, I will totally avoid working or even responding to emails during my holiday. It’s good for my mental health.
I will just probably use the keyboard to write on my blog. It’s sometimes hard to blog on my phone if I feel like writing long entries.
Ahhh my cats would have to wait for days again until I come back.
My ridiculous Kimchi. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Only one more working day tomorrow!!! ❤️ then I will be packing my diving buoy, sunscreen, long flippers, and my new Speedo swimsuit that just arrived yesterday.
A dose of Vitamin Sea is just what my doctor ordered.
I need to shake off the sadness and insecurity that enveloped me this week. As my colleague-friend asked, why do you still think about him? I said, I don’t know. She said, “it’s not good for you.” Don’t I know it?
But I’m getting better. Better things will be coming.
