Ah EDSA, how I hate thee. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I left my hometown at 9:30 am today. It took me only 1 hour and 10 mins (~61 km) to reach Grand Hyatt in BGC. The funny thing here is it took me 30 mins (16km) from BGC to reach my apartment 🤨 That’s how much of a time waster traveling around Metro Manila is.
Before I left this morning, I debated whether I should walk around the university campus or just hit the treadmill. Treadmill won because I brought an extra sport shirt by mistake since I thought it was my exercise pants. Can’t walk comfortably in jeans since I would be sweating profusely. So treadmill it is.
Before leaving, I checked the construction site and talked to my contractor since I decided to change the plan and I want to move the TV wall near my bedroom door because it makes more sense. The dining table (I will bring my existing one and eventually buy a round tulip table which looks and feels better in a small space) will be placed in the middle of it all, near the original TV wall. So my dining area will have my art gallery wall as backdrop.
More cement and sand.Future bedroom. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
This 10 sqm room will be my future room and everything here will be demolished, except for the wooden floor. The windows will be changed and this will become a fire exit as well so it has to be bigger and I will have a balcony outside as that will serve as the fire exit platform. I will have a million power outlets.
I told him that the interior paint will just be semi-glossy white since I will be hanging a lot of art and the walls’ clinical look will be broken by my printed curtains. Since I know how to sew curtains. I can change the look of my interiors by sewing lots of curtains.
Maybe the next time I visit this, probably next weekend (not this coming weekend) the bathroom walls and the kitchen counters will be up.
The big windows in the girls’ room. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Yep, it’s finally tangible. No longer a sketch from my sketchpad.
I left QC at around 6 am and arrived in my hometown past 8 am. It was just around 1.5 hrs, minus a bathroom stop along the expressway.
Along Skyway 3. Photo taken while my phone was hanging from the phone holder on my dashboard. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I talked with my contractor the moment I arrived and discussed stuff for almost two hours. Placement of power outlets (like I have 24 power outlets, several two-way or four-way light switches), making platforms on the widows for the cats to watch the world go by, placement of my fridge, circuit breakers/fuse box, shower head, how the doors will open, range hoods, piped in LPG lines since the tanks will be left outside and just piped inside…so many things. Emergency exits, landing strips…
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Will soon be closing off rooms from the other house since I will eat one entire room (my future bedroom).
I got scolded by my sister for keeping so much trash from high school. She told me to burn all of them because there’s no more space for my stuff.
They cleared my forest. Photo by CallMeCreation.comThis area will be enlarged/extended (staircase will be moved) to become my future patio/outdoor dining/hot tub area. Photo by CallMeCreation.com.
Need to sleep now as I plan to walk several km tomorrow morning before I leave for BGC.
While inside my Grab car going to Cainta. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I went to Cainta to pick up my car at around 2 pm and I was worried that I won’t make it in time before the window closes for those whose plate numbers are banned on major roads today.
Finally, woohoo I got my car!
Finally I’m inside my car.Still raining though. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
This meant that I couldn’t do my walk today. Indoor workout it is. 🙄 *sigh*
The usual Monday blues today.
I also went ballistic when one of my reporters hasn’t been submitting stories and attending the weekly calls…because he is in Japan and he didn’t tell me!
He asked for a different contract because he couldn’t keep up with the quota and then he goes gallivanting in Japan. He told me he was taking care of his mom who is critically ill so he wants more freedom.
Then bam! He’s in Japan and I got to learn about it as one of the reporters from another sister publication slipped and inadvertently told me.
I was so incensed.
Then after I had calmed down, I remember him asking for a leave of absence some weeks before.
Now I can’t remember if he filed a formal request.
Still pissed. I searched high and low in my email archives if he filed his request. Nope, he didn’t.
Ok, calm down. Breathe.
Choose your battles. This one is already lost.
Meanwhile, I’m waiting for my bosses to approve my 9-day stay in Singapore in November so I can start booking this week.
Too much bureaucracy.
Ooops! Our global editor popped on MS Teams just now to tell me that once again the company will be publishing one of my stories in the public site since it is one of the most read articles globally in our platform last Friday.
It’s already the second time this month. 🙃
Now I guess they understand my importance to APAC. They shouldn’t paying me peanuts and that they should approve all my requests for travel 😏 As if I’m playing hooky when I travel. 😤
Helllooooooo! I work my ass off and been working harder than others since Day 1.
Ah well.
Let’s see where my patience will get me.
OK, I need to pack my stuff as I will be driving to my hometown and check on the construction progress. I might spend the night there because it’s easier to drive from there to BGC on Wednesday morning.
I like Tori Amos’ covers of well-known rock songs. She gives them more depth and female angst. Here is my simplified version of her Nirvana cover, Smells Like Teen Spirit. I couldn’t match Tori’s piano playing because I’m lazy and I want the easier way 🤣
Smells Like Teen Spirit
On the perky side of life, here is my version of Sweet Child of Mine by Guns N’ Roses. A staple during my high school days.
I kept playing the piano to cool down after my 7+ km walk tonight. Yep I just rested for two days and back again on the saddle.
It took me a little bit longer today because I didn’t pressure myself. But I think I didn’t change my pace that much since I still average 15 mins per km.
When the girls were much younger, this path was their playground. They pretended to go on a journey, like in Pokemon, climbed trees and explored the winding paths. Photo by CallMeCreation.comI wanted to catch the sunset again. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
No need to reach goals, no need to work on self-improvement, no need to be a ray of sunshine.
I cooked, cleaned up after myself and the girls, cleaned cat litter boxes, ruminated under a hot shower, and tidied up my room so I can spend the rest of the day watching videos on my tablet comfortably…
I hadn’t realized that this past week exhausted me, especially since I needed to rein in my temper and not react immediately to a number of BS I encountered.
My body is protesting so I needed to rest a bit. Tomorrow I don’t have to hit 9 km.
Just be.
I attempted to watch a Korean drama.
I still can’t.
I should cancel my subscription to Viu. I’ve been on it for a year but I haven’t watched a single thing there. Maybe I’ll just stick to Gokushufudou and the like in the meantime.
Trauma doesn’t get erased in a couple of days, months, or two years.
Yes, I did say I didn’t want to post anything political or anything to do with current events but of course I couldn’t help it.
Who else could it be??? Like as if any Korean presidential candidate would be as brash as this… Or I could be wrong 🙄 But then the most obvious candidate is…TADAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!
Your guess is as good as mine.
Meanwhile….
The top rice importers in the world 1) China; 2) PHILIPPINES
And hellooooooo! Who is the concurrent agriculture secretary? The president who could not even make head nor tail of the economy and government.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Bravo! Bravo!
And this government cut the budget for health; we no longer have budget for Covid vaccines and support for cancer patients. All went to the confidential funds of the Department of Education Secretary, who is the Vice President, and should not have confidential funds because what does she need “intel” funds for as education secretary? Then the office of the president has billions in unwarranted “confidential funds” that can be disbursed without state auditing.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
*Sigh* I shouldn’t have clicked on Twitter. 🙄
My desk on Friday night chaos. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Been busy emailing people for meetings in Singapore in November so I can have my trip approved by London. Kinda stupid that I had to justify my trip to my own office. As if I’m there to have a holiday. 🙄 Good thing the people I reached out to were very willing to meet me and have already ordered their secretaries to send me an email invite to table the meetings.
I need to book my hotel and flights next week since the rates are already going up.
Because I was attending to these things, I wasn’t able to get off my table and to start walking again at 4pm. I opted to have indoor workout, which I’m not really a fan of. The usual core exercises and dumbbell workouts. Then stretches.
After planking.
I can’t NOT have exercise these days because I love home cooking. Just look at this!
Instant Pot 45 min kare-kare swimming in peanut sauce. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Fall-off-the-bone beef kare-kare in 45 minutes. This is part if the xxx number of kilos of beef I bought from my hometown. It’s cartilaginous but it just melted. The peanut sauce became peanut soup since it is pressure cooked, no steam escaped/no evaporation, hence, the sauce remained watery instead of transforming into a gooey sauce. I remedied this by plopping more Reese peanut butter…ah well. Lesson learned. But the kare-kare is excellent. *Chef’s kiss* 👌😘
And to cap off the weekend, here is 12-year-old Yoyoka, wowing me again with her wicked drumming skills in 1970s classic heavy rock. She’s just one year older than my girls and yet her mastery of the instrument is that of a 45-year-old professional drummer.
I’m glad that heavy rock is still alive and kicking in Japan and has not been swallowed up by Kpop/Jpop. Japan has always produced very skilled guitarists and bassists, especially women bassists, like Madoon who complements Yoyoka here.
Monoral was in heavy rotation in my iPod a decade ago.
Speaking of bassist, the best bassist for me is Billy Sheehan >>> he’s a big part why I loved Mr. Big. He could make the instrument really sing and compete with the lead guitars in terms of melodies. And with Yoyoka’s drumming, it was ear candy.
My kids are starting to appreciate some of my music now that they started listening to Up Dharma Down and Radiohead. We’re on Spotify family plan so they have started to discover music on their own. However, I don’t think they’re ready for nu metal like Korn and P.O.D. but they have an entire lifetime of listening to discover those.
Oh Up Dharma Down…smooth jazz fusion music on a Friday night. I miss them and there’s a huge void when they disbanded. I’ve only seen them live once 😥 but Armi Millare is still there creating beautiful music and she provided me with the most poignant soundtrack of my life.
