After visiting Quezon City Circle this afternoon to buy more flowers, I suddenly craved for spicy Korean chicken. But the parking area at Jjangkke was full so I had to go to the Korean mart near my apartment to satisfy my craving for something spicy without having to cook.
So instead I got myself spicy fish cakes and spicy egg rolls. Bought the girls gimbap and hopang. I then cooked tonkatsu ramen from my stash of Japanese groceries.
Photo by CallMeCreation.com Photo by CallMeCreation.com
My PMS is fueling my cravings. I have to have that spicy chicken tomorrow. 🌶️
While we were at Yong Korean Mart, Twin I and I checked out new items in their shelves and saw this:
Peach oolong. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I’ll try this Peach oolong next month after I get clearance from my doctor that I can take caffeinated drinks. My sleep hours are still messy and I had a horrible headache this lunch that I had to sleep it off.
Next week will be slow so the following days would be devoted to making the front of my house pretty. I can probably go to Dapitan for some garden accessories.
I have no idea what we will do this year while still under Alert level 3 (and unvaccinated children are still not allowed anywhere). For Chinese new year in 2020, we went to Rizal to visit Angono, Morong, and Tanay. Last year, we went to Binangonan to watch a beautiful sunset.
For this year perhaps we’ll just drive somewhere in Rizal, like Daranak Falls? The girls went spelunking and kayaking to reach the caves in their dad’s province last Christmas so hiking to the falls will not be a big deal.
We remain the laughingstock of the world and the Dutertes and Marcoses and the Arroyos are the clowns who manipulate the Filipinos to perpetuate their greed. What I am worried about is the complacency of the opposition as they remain in their echo chambers, thinking that the echoes are the vox populi. Not so. Talk to the street vendors, the farmers, the fishermen, the vegetable sellers in the urban and rural places. They are voting for Marcos as they lap up all the propaganda crap that radio and GMA Network have been propagating. They do not have access to Internet; if they do, they can’t spend precious pesos on data. They don’t own smart phones; if they do, they may not have the cellular signal for internet. The C, D, E markets comprise the bulk of the electorate. A-B markets are just the small percentage and we often do not reach out to the grassroots.
The fight is in the grassroots.
I finally have the butane grill that I’ve been hanging on to on Lazada. Bought during the 11.11 sale. Photo by CalMeCreation.com
I no longer have to buy and use charcoal. I’ve been polluting my neighbors’ houses for so long. Whoppeee! And it’s easier to cook. No need to spend 30 mins to an hour trying to keep the embers going.
Giant Monterey beef patties. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
To cope with the unsavory news stories that keep popping up on my newsfeeds (and I really can’t tune out because I am a journalist), I indulged again and cooked a nice dinner for all of us. The burgers were juicy and nicely smoked.
Grilled salmon. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
The burgers were for the girls and Ate C. Mine was a small salmon steak with mashed potato and basil.
It’s easy to disassemble for cleaning. It packs away nicely so this is perfect for camping, together with the other portable stove that I first bought from Sarang Mart. It’s nice to grill chicken, hotdogs and marshmallows here while outside the tent as the sun goes down. I found another camping site where we could go, probably by January or February when it’s cooler and not rainy.
The Bloc Campsite, Cavinti, Laguna. Photo from Tripadvisor.comThe BLOC.Photo from Tripadvisor.com
To cope with the negativity around me, I must do the things that I love. Travel and be with nature. Simple wants and simple needs.
First off, I am incensed, even though I already expected this, that the Dutertes are mocking the electoral process. As I mentioned here before, Bong Go and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa are just placeholders for Sara Duterte and her running mate until Nov 15, the deadline for any changes in the certificate of candidacy. It is yet to be revealed who will give way between her and Bong Bong Marcos. There are talks that it was Duterte (or former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the mastermind behind Sara) who floated the tax evasion conviction of Marcos Jr to the public so he would be forced to slide down and give way to Sara Duterte. His conviction makes him ineligible to run for any office.
Whatever. This means the Marcos apologists and DDS would be divided. But then this would be a very dirty election, with China intervening again. They’ve already shown their endorsement of Marcos Jr. Remember the “7-hr glitch” during the 2019 elections? State Grid Corp of China owns 40% of the National Grid Corp of the Philippines (NGCP). The Chinese entry was done during the Macapagal Arroyo Administration. It was also during her rule that the ZTE corruption scandal broke out. See the network of evil here?
Incidentally, NGCP is required under the law to list on PSE for transparency because it a monopoly. And guess what? They refused to do so and found a loophole in the law. It’s the Filipino shareholders who did a reverse takeover of a shell company and is making a follow-on offering, some kind of share swap so it would appear that NGCP would become a listed entity because it now has become a subsidiary of a listed company. After structuring the deal, JP Morgan resigned as one of the joint global coordinators for the deal. The Chinese shareholders would not be exposed at all and there is still no transparency. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) allowed it. When I was pursuing the story, I asked ERC about the spirit of the law and would they allow this as per EPIRA law? They couldn’t comment, saying they haven’t seen the IPO filing yet at that time.
At the end of thw day, it’s still the Dutertes/Marcoses/Arroyos who are running the show, having this unholy alliance with the Xi Jinping.
I had a terrifying night last night. I read this Twitter thread about cave diving in rivers and the open sea and the tweets and story links made me feel like I was suffocating. One Reddit entry described nitrogen narcosis so succinctly that I felt as if I was the one suffocating.
This is the entrance to Jacob's Well in Texas. It looks like a bottomless pit.
It leads to a massive cave system about 5000 feet of which have been mapped out. pic.twitter.com/KUo3ckOBlC
As a freediver, albeit amateur, some of my worst nightmares are running out of breath, currents that could sweep me away or under, and nitrogen narcosis, if not the bends, when scuba diving.
Nitrogen narcosis is one of the reasons why I didn’t want to go scuba diving even if my sister went for certification. Another reason was the bends. There are only two decompression chambers here in the Philippines as far as I know. One is in Subic and the other is in Cebu. If I would need decompression in Anilao, I would be dead.
I did not finish this video of a reckless Russian-Israeli diver who attempted to go under the arch at the Blue Hole off the coast of Egypt, in the Red Sea. It was horrifying.
https://youtu.be/YhPdB5fxKA0
He was not a technical diver, he was ill-equipped because he was carrying one ordinary tank of breathing gas, plus his gear was too heavy for the compression that he experienced at great depths, which prevented him to ascend. Add to his confusion is his apparent nitrogen narcosis.
Being out in the deep blue sea can disorient you; you don’t know which way is up or down. I felt that when we were in Balicasag in Bohol when I attempted to dive away from the seawall and be suspended in the big blue open sea. It was surreal. It would be more terrifying if you were like 30 m deeper, when the light is already faint.
I was scared for J at that time as he kept on diving along the seawall, deeper and deeper. When he did that, I just hovered above so I can easily pull him up if gets caught in an undercurrent along the seawall or if he blacks out. One of the dangers of freediving, aside from running out of breath, is blacking out from the quick ascent from the deep or when surfacing. Many professional freedivers have died of it.
That’s why I wanted to be certified as a freediver so I would be properly trained in ascents and breathing. I would also know what are the other protocols, such as having a knife with me on my weight belt so I can free myself from entanglement or from predators.
However, after reading the stories of cave divers and underwater sinkholes…
Balicasag island, Bohol. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I will soon be moving up. But I was asked if I can move to Singapore. I said I did the math and there is no way in this world I would be able to afford to send my children to school there on a single income. Housing costs are way above my head too. I told my boss I can travel to Singapore every other week but I can’t leave my kids here and be fulltime in Singapore. I would lose custody of them because the court may decide that they will be better off living with their dad, who remains unemployed and still sponging off his 89-year-old dad.
My colleague in Singapore and I did the math. It’s like the tuition is USD 2k a month per child (minimum) then housing is shared (and I don’t know what quality of life we’ll have sharing a house with another family) at USD 2k = USD 6k already just for tuition and housing. This does not include utilities, transportation, food, healthcare and miscellaneous items (clothing, school materials etc). I won’t be saving anything. We won’t even qualify for public school admittance there. Private schools are about an average of SGD 40,000 (USD 30,000) per child a year.
Singapore makes no bones about the fact that it puts its own people first — as such, school placements are offered initially to citizens, then to PRs, and finally to non-PR foreigners. Furthermore, unlike citizens and PRs, foreigners cannot request a particular school — essentially, you’ll take what you’re given (if you’re lucky enough to be offered a place at all). And if you’re not happy with the offer made? Or you feel that there was a mistake made somewhere along the way? Too bad. There is no review or appeals process available. As we might say to our own children, “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset…”
All applications are made through the Ministry of Education (MOE) which is somewhat tight-lipped on what proportion of its annual submissions are successful. According to the most recent figures, between 3000–3500 foreigners applied in 2016 and, while the numbers aren’t official, the available information indicates that about one third of applicants are given places.
Local school fees for foreigners range from $6,000 to nearly $10,000 annually.
“I understand if schools have no vacancies for foreigners. But it would have been better if they stated the criteria more clearly,” she said...
Since 2014, International Education Placement and Services has even stopped trying to help clients enrol in local schools. Instead, it diverts them to international schools. “We are getting more frustrated parents, usually from China and the Philippines, who cannot afford international schools,” said its director Kenneth Choo.
Why even bother move there? What I’m receiving now is minuscule to whatever my boss is probably getting but I still manage to save a lot.
My colleague said, why do you even need to be here anyway? I said, boss said they need to someone to watch over the bureau. Then my colleague said, “Watch over what? Coverage? Employees? I’m the only one here!”
Exactly, I said. I don’t even have to be there everyday.
She said, “XXX the editor of XXX is actually in KL the whole year…He’s under SG contract and got PR (permanent resident) last year).”
I said, I will cite that example to management. There is little reason for me to be there. I can pack all the meetings and housekeeping duties and coverage during the weeks I’m in Singapore and the rest of the work I can do remotely here in Manila. Besides, my coverage is no longer just Singapore–it’s all over Southeast Asia and I’ve been doing it remotely since the beginning of time. It requires more travel outside Singapore. The reason why we are required to station ourselves in Singapore is because the regional offices of banks and law firms are there. The private equity offices are there. But the people from these firms don’t even stay in Singapore all the time. They travel a lot.
If push comes to shove, they should get another manager who is single, willing to relocate to Singapore, and suffer the high cost of living without the expat package. Plus willing to bear the regular stress of having your employment pass rejected by the Ministry of Manpower. My colleague’s E-Pass renewal application this year got rejected and we had to appeal. Good thing she’s already a CFA, which is a plus point for her, and finally she was able to renew her E-Pass. But it was a stressful time for everybody.
And I can run the bureau from my office here. As I always have.
I learned an unhealthy but delicious food hack from a friend via her Instagram post. I copied this instant noodle hack and wrote my own. It was interesting.
THIS IS A GAME CHANGER. I got this from (name of friend) and this does not taste like Lucky Me Instant Chicken noodles!
First, you grate one clove of garlic in a bowl, then add the seasonings, one raw egg, onion leeks or green onions or whatever you have on hand, pepper, and a dollop of mayonnaise (Kewpie for best results 襤). Mix it all.
Cook the noodles in boiling water until al dente. Pour the boiling water into the bowl of the mixed mush that you have and let it rest until your egg is cooked. Add your noodles and top it with bok choy.
It’s as creamy as Ramen Nagi and the raw garlic was ❤️.
I’ve been watching June Xie of Delish because she has so many food adventures with her budget eats. They’re labor intensive but you gotta do what you gotta do if you have a limited budget
Even here in Manila I can’t do the USD 25 a week challenge. I spend like PHP 725 (USD 14.50) on veggies alone for a week. Adding fruits mean USD 20 a week.
So yeah, planting vegetables is the way to go.
I’m dying to have an hour in an onsen. I’m thinking if I could risk a trip to Lasema in Makati tomorrow as they just opened the hot tubs for public use. I could have the Karada chiro-massage combination then dip in Lasema.
Or book a 3-hr treatment in I’m Onsen Spa for the same price. Their website says their hotel facilities are closed.
Or I visit my chiropractor, Dr. Ken Sison, in Makati then proceed to Lasema. He cured my back pain after 6 sessions 10 years ago after giving birth to my twins.
My spine and lower back have missed him…
It’s about time that I pamper myself to the hilt. With all the bullshit I’ve been through, yeah, a spine adjustment, hot tub and a massage are just right.
I remember spending one night and an entire morning in onsens one spring holiday in Kansai. I’ve never felt so clean in my life after spending the night in Kinosaki.
From the train station, I walked along the main road of this quaint little town that has been a destination for those seeking comfort from hot spring baths for more than 1,000 years. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I booked a ryokan there and arrived at around 5-ish I think. I was shown to my room and how to set up my futon.
Photo by CallMeCreation.com Macha and a rice cake welcomed me. Photo by CallMeCreation.com I changed into a yukata provided by the ryokan and flipped-flopped on my wooden sandals to try one or two of the seven old onsens.Photo by CallMeCreation.com Like this one. It was lovely. Temperature was dropping to 16-15 degrees Celsius while the water was around 40-50 degrees. Photo by CallMeCreation.com The ryokan didn’t serve meals so I went to the nearest kombini to buy a bentodinner. For a kombini dinner, it was good. Photo by CallMeCreation.com I went out again in my yukata and geta to experience the cool and quiet night. During the hanami festival this river would have been lovely, with sakura bursting along the banks. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Before retiring for the night, I had another hour at my ryokan’s own onsen. I felt so clean!
So for tomorrow, I just want to spend an entire day treating myself to a spa or just pamper myself with whatever wellness procedure I can have ❤️
Before I start talking about my terrible sense of direction, I learned today that my daughter, Twin I, ordered a kalimba from Shopee (via cash on delivery) using the money she earned from doing her chores. My daughters are learning to work for things that they want. The problem is a kalimba is hard to tune. I know how to tune stringed instruments by ear but a kalimba is a different animal because it’s a small idiophone so it’s harder to detect the smaller changes in notes.
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I needed an app to help me with the tuning. And to tune this thing, you literally hit the prongs with a metal hammer either at the top end (to lower) or at the bottom end (to push it to a higher note).
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
What’s odd about this kalimba is that it only has the major chords. The origin of the kalimba is an instrument from Zimbabwe that was exported to Brazil (called mbira in Brazil). That instrument didn’t follow the western tuning (western octaves) and this modern version was converted to follow the western octave. So you can only play the songs here that use the major chords (no sharps and flats here).
Now about that sense of direction…It’s a miracle that I can travel on my own, go out to provinces in foreign countries and go back home alive. I remember when I was in Amanohashidate I got lost trying to reach the other side of town. I didn’t want to cross the sandbar so I assumed I can take the bus to cross to the other side of town but almost ended up going to Ine, a far off fishing village 15 km away.
So first of all, I took Kyoto Tango Railway line at 5 am and it took me 3.5 hrs from Shin-Osaka station to reach Amanohashidate. It was a nice way to see the countryside.
On the way to Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
From the main station before Amanohashidate you have to take a one-car train. It was like a train ride to nowhere.
Photo by CallMeCreation.comPhoto by CallMeCreation.com
I arrived there at 8:30 am very hungry and looked for a place to eat. I found a hole-in-the-wall eatery that served ramen for JPY 800 a bowl.
Ramen for breakfast. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
After that, I searched for the way to the viewing deck to see one of the top 3 best views in Japan, according to my research. There was a tram and there was a chair lift. Of course I chose the chair lift because I court danger. And you only live once so why not?
Yes, the chair lifts are just like that. You hold on to dear life. No freaking seatbelts! Photo by CallMeCreation.comI don’t know how the hell I was able to take a photo with one hand while the other hand was clinging to the chair post. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
And I traveled all the way from Osaka Prefecture to Kyoto By the Sea to see this view.
A narrow sandbar that divides the town of Amanohashidate. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I don’t know…it was pretty for sure but a bit underwhelming. I have seen better views in my life and I have traveled far and wide within the Philippines and there are a couple of views here that can rival this. Anyway, my boss in Tokyo marveled at how I was able to visit this when she herself hasn’t been able to check this out. I stayed at the lookout area for an hour or so and explored the park to make my hours-long journey worthwhile.
I can ride a bike on that sandbar to reach the other side of town but it was hot and I didn’t want to get tired so I took the bus and figured I can stop by the Motoise Kono Shrine and walk to the other side of this sandbar.
The only problem was I didn’t know what the entrance to the shrine looked like. So on and on the bus went. And then all I saw was the sea.
I checked Google map. I was staring at Asoumi Sea, which was not part of my plans. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
There was a couple at my back and the guy was speaking in mixed English and Korean. I asked the guy if I missed the stop to the shrine. He had this horrified look on his face that told me I committed a grave mistake. He told me we were already on our way to Ine, that fishing village at the edge of Kyoto Prefecture. There was no train there and this was the last bus.
He told me to get off the bus immediately to catch the last bus back to Amanohashidate train station. He spoke to the driver in Nihongo to tell him I took the bus by mistake and I need to catch the bus on the opposite side.
Perfect timing, when I got off the bus going to Ine, the last bus going back to Amanohashidate was just arriving. I thanked my guardian angel and took a great sigh of relief. But when I got off the bus, the train going to Kinosaki (in Hyogo Prefecture) was leaving the platform. I was just one minute too late! Damn those very prompt Japanese trains!
So I took my chance and looked at the trains that were leaving the station. I figured I could get another local train to Toyooka or an express passing by Toyooka.
By 4 pm I was on my way to Kinosaki where I had booked a night’s stay in a ryokan with its own onsen. I left the rest of my luggage at my hotel in Osaka for safekeeping so I don’t have to lug it while traipsing around from one prefecture to another.
Thank God for my JR Pass that let me ride all trains that I want.
