I had my morning walk when I went to the community weekend market. My fridge was pulled out by the local Panasonic service center yesterday so I can’t cook. I don’t have food that isn’t canned or instant in my house as of now. 😢 I had to buy brunch and dinner from the community market to tide us over today.

It was really weird that the local government unit cancelled classes last Thursday because of the supposed heat wave forecast earlier last week. What’s laughable was that yes, it was hot but it wasn’t really different from a typical early March heat. The next day, there were light showers, then the next day, and the next day… My brother posted on social media, poking fun (sarcasm) at the LGU for this idiotic decision.

We are chasing the limited school days left before we radically shift the school year back to the original June-March schedule because of climate change—school kids and personnel cannot bear the extreme heat of late March, April, and May. Meaning the 4Q grading period for elementary and high school is very rushed because the school year needs to end by May then kids come back to school for SY 2025-2026 by July. Next school year (SY 2026-2027), the calendar should start by June.

Why did the SY even shift to the weird schedule that we had the past few years? The pandemic altered our SYs. Public schools weren’t prepared to do remote learning so it took them a while to figure out how to execute it so it so the SY got pushed back to October. Some schools started in September while my kids’ school then in QC were able to start theirs in July and end in May.

Apparently the schools here in my hometown followed the calendar of our university, which had an academic calendar aligned with its counterparts abroad (mainly ASEAN) starting 2014. So when my kids moved here, they had a long break from school, starting May to  September. But Twin A and I were still in the hospital that time so the two of us didn’t really feel the start of the SY until mid-October.

Now that the school days are being rushed, my girls are complaining that projects and lessons are crammed too much. They’re panicking. Today we spent the rest of the afternoon looking for an old-style buzzer for Twin I’s project. It was tough since hardware stores are closed on Sundays. I don’t know how she would be able to buy that tomorrow after school…

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Trump and his overlord Elon Musk are the most hated characters globally today. The implementation of the tariffs on Canada and Mexico and Trudeu’s reciprocal tariffs have sent Wall Street to slide. What the idiot Republicans and MAGA people have not realized is that this will really send inflation rate to the stratosphere. Do they realize that Canada supplies nearly 60% of US’ petroleum imports??? Yes, the US produces its own oil but it’s not enough to meet domestic demand. And now they’re imposing 25% tariffs on more than half of their imported fuel?! How idiotic.

Let’s talk about timber—a commodity that is mainly used for housing, which is a basic human need. Immigrants have stopped showing up on construction sites so bringing new housing inventory to the market will slow down. To rub salt on the wound, the cost of timber will jump, which will then make homes more unaffordable to the middle class and low-income groups. To think home prices are one of the metrics that we business journalists watch out for/report (aside from core inflation and jobs data) to gauge the US economy.

Trump is shooting America on the foot with this brainless move. 

Speaking of immigrants, Boston and the rest of the East Coast are fighting back. This Tiktok video is funny but ICE will not have an easy time. This is no joke since the Boston Police has already clashed with ICE because of their raids. Businesses are keeping ICE at arm’s length. Citizens have sirens to warn immigrants of forthcoming or ongoing raids…just like what the anti-Nazi citizens have done for Jews in WW2 in another form.

@lulacorg

In cities like Los Angeles, neighbors are using megaphones to warn each other about ICE operations, reminding families of their rights and stopping unlawful detentions. ICE relies on fear and misinformation, but the law is clear: they cannot enter without a signed warrant. People are taking action—informing their neighbors, recording encounters, and refusing to open the door. This isn’t just about one city. Communities everywhere can do the same. Know your rights. Speak up. Protect each other. #AbolishICE #KnowYourRights #CommunityDefense #NoMoreRaids #WeKeepUsSafe #LULAC #fyp

♬ original sound – LULAC

People have been rejoicing over the ICE vehicle that had burst into flames in Philadelphia (but news reports said there was no evidence of it being a terrorist act)…

@ma2thestig

Good luck with that #ice #borderczar #boston #bostonstrong #fyp

♬ I’m Shipping Up To Boston – Dropkick Murphys

Funny how in the comments in various social media platforms say Bostonians would throw all the Tesla vehicles over the Boston Harbor/Massachusetts Bay and make it an electric Tea Party.

Well, Boston, France won this round!

You know the French ain’t taking shit from neo=Nazis. If they have to bring out the guillotine, they would. 

The world is conspiring against Elon. He lost a USD 22bn business in Latin America when he slandered Carlos Slim. SpaceX’s rocket had burst into flames last week. Schadenfreude, that’s what the rest of the world feels right now.

Hoping I could get something here…

I had to scrounge for stories and I am now going to trade shows that I normally wouldn’t have bothered with. At least I got three prospective interviewees today. I just need to use my powers of persuation.

It’s kinda sad though that there is so much artistry in this country but either the works are copied by the Chinese or the artists are pirated to China because they don’t have enough support back home.

I have heard this from several craftsmem/creatives. As I said here before, the Paete wood carvers and taka makers have lost their livelihood to China. You know what? Filipino ice carvers win first place in Canada. They have learned carving when they were still in Paete. They had to move abroad so they can make a living.

Wohoo, I was able to go out while there’s still daylight. I need to keep the momentum of being able to walk 10,000 steps after my Hong Kong trip. I was able to hit 12k steps while I was there last week. 🚶

Today I was able to cover almost 6.5 km. I need to do something with my tummy though. Pilates maybe? Or use the university pool… Haven’t tried it. I had been living here for  two years already and not once have I tried to swim laps at the university pool.

Posting was not a priority yesterday because I was so exhausted and anxious. Anxious because my refrigerator is acting up again and I would have to call the Panasonic service center. They would have to pull this out again and we will be living on Food Panda/Grab Food again for a week. 😔

Another issue is Kimchi. I need to bring her to the vet because she keeps peeing in places she shouldn’t be. I don’t know if she is doing this to mark her territory because Gorilla and Socks are encroaching in her territory or it is something medical.

I’m physically exhausted from the travel and I’m overwhelmed with household issues. To top it all off, I had to do a lot of cleaning. 😢

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I went around Wan Chai Computer Center last Saturday to see if there are stuff that I can buy that are worth packing in my luggage.

I was tempted to buy a mirrorless compact but I realized I no longer carry my Fujifilm, so that means any camera purchase would just be a waste of good money. After going up and down three floors of the computer center, I went to CN Square in Yau Ma Tei.

Hong Kong is home to almost 400,000 Filipino domestic workers. They use to converge in Victoria Park on Sundays after church service but since the pandemic, people weren’t allowed to go there en masse. So they had no choice but to lay cardboard boxes to use as picnic mats along the foot bridges in Central that they made into a substitute park—from Hong Kong Station to several connected buildings in the CBD area, like World Wide House where a lot of Philippine banks and stores are located. It’s their version of Singapore Lucky Plaza. This is also the reason why Hong Kong has 19 Jollibee stores; Jollibee follows the Filipinos.

Anyway, I arrived at CN Square fully equipped with my armor of prudence and financial safety checks. Because that dang area is a money pit for a stationery addict like me.

They weren’t any cheaper compared to Manila but they have a much wider selection. The Japanese brands are there and other obscure names. I also didn’t know that Pierre Cardin licensed fountain pens and inks. If my father is still alive, I would have gifted him a Pierre Cardin or a Waterman from here.

On the second level… I almost bought a set of inks for ink painting. The output of some of the teachers and students in their works deluded me into thinking I could also do what they do… 🙃

They’re all so pretty. ❤️

I tried dabbling in it, to see how difficult or easy it is. Nope, I can’t control it. It’s like watercolor but it’s much more difficult.

It’s like once it touches the paper, it’s there and I wouldn’t be able to manipulate it anymore. Maybe I’m an idiot but I could no longer change how it behaves on paper. Sometimes with watercolor, I could still adjust the color or transparency. With inks, however…

I tried it again, this time with more transparency. It’s hard.

They also have classes for watercolors but I didn’t see any watercolors for sale.

This one is by a teacher who is also an architect. He does this art lessons on the side.

I almost bought ink painting and calligraphy sets. Almost. I realized I do not have the time to indulge in these hobbies nowadays. 😭

The only time I was able to color my sketches done at the airport was before I checked out of my hotel last Saturday.

I wanted to go to Tsim Sha Tsui to take photos of Victoria Harbor for reference for future sketches or paintings. But it was a Saturday and I knew it would be teeming with tourists.

It’s hard to find a spot. 🥲

The photo above is good for wave painting exercises.

This one is for perspective sketching.

I should have visited the HK MoA but I didn’t have enough time. The last time I visited this museum was in 2007.

That’s it. I’ll probably come back to HK in November.

I woke up late so I don’t have enough time to go to Macau. Well, I can’t anyway since I need to leave for the airport at 4 pm. Maybe I can go Tsim Sha Tsui and take it from there.

It has gotten a lot warmer, around 19 degrees to 20 so I didn’t have to wear jacket yesterday morning to work or when I had a meeting at Exchange Square.

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Since I’m already at the CBD area, might as well check out the gadgets center to see if they’re cheaper.

Prices are comparative to Lazada and Shopee. It’s maybe worth it to go out of your way to buy gadgets there if you’re from Singapore, where everything is expensive. Otherwise, you can just buy stuff from Lazada if you factor in the luggage space that your purchase may occupy.

This was just pure laugh trip. The sense of humor of my fellow Pinoys in our office is, at best, gutter humor. The kind of humor you get when you’re all drunk and laughing at each other’s antics while singing and eating. It was such a welcome break from all the craziness of this week.

Yesterday’s public speaking training was good. I’ve improved from last year and our trainor was happy about it. I realized that I do better when I write it down so that my thought process has structure. I have a lot of verbal fillers when I don’t have structure. I told our trainor, who is a stage actor, that being onstage is not difficult for me…it’s only when I have to think about what I need to say on stage that I get into trouble because my brain is faster than my mouth. But when I have a script in my brain, like Hamlet’s soliloquy, it’s so easy for me.

From Monday until today, I had back-to-back meetings and trainings. I barely had time to write and edit. I’m so stressed because not only I had to double my output for this month, I also had to make sure my team is beyond the minimum number of stories for Feb. I had to go through the grilling of my two bosses yesterday; they told me that I really had to scare my team to make everyone move. I agree with my bosses that two of them aren’t even exerting enough effort. That’s why I’m flying to one reporter’s home market in April to check on her and probably I need to visit another one to do the same. I mean, there is no reason for them not to attend events and earnings calls and such.

My bosses said it was unfair to me that reporters under me produce less than I do when I still edit and do admin work. They know that I tried my best to provide them all help I can extend, from facilitating interviews to providing them with people to chase. It was already spoonfeeding but they still can’t—I don’t know… It’s exhausting.

Meanwhile, I was able to tell my manager my issue with her. She is unaware about what she was doing to me (and to other reporters because one had the same issue with her). She lacks self-awareness. As one reporter told me, she is rude online but in person she is ok to deal with. I told her whenever she pings me on Teams, she makes me jump out of my skin.

At least now we are levelling off. At least it’s a start. I don’t have to quit my job or my current setup. I don’t have to go freelance. I just don’t have to mind her.

After our session, the editorial unit of our company had drinks and at least it’s a good ice breaker.

But they had to close the tab immediately—this company is such a cheapskate. 😑 So some of my colleagues and I left to eat at this famous beef brisket noodle place called Kau Kee, several hundred meters away.

It was good for HKD 70 per bowl but it was small. I had a bigger bowl of pho at Central Market for the same price. In terms of broth and noodles, this is much better than the one I had in Taiwan, which was sour and the noodles were just too thick.

According to Reddit, this restaurant is not popular with the locals as it has become touristy (mostly from mainland China) and most of the customers just go there to have selfies and post on Xiaohongshu. One poster said there is a better restaurant in Jordan called Sun Fa. It doesn’t have an English name on Google Maps so I have to be creative…