Homeward bound

Posted on 13/06/2022 by admin

*Breakfast by the balcony. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

Well, surprisingly I was able to sleep before 12 midnight last night then that meant I was already awake at around 5:30 am. By 6 am I gave up and made breakfast for all of us. My sisters and my mom had to leave at 9 am due to prior commitments today. My girls and I had a more leisurely breakfast and allowed us to clean the entire place before checking out.

This gave me the chance to walk around the lagoon to fetch my car from the country club.

*The pathway behind our condo unit. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*Flowers that I will copy. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*This way to the beach*. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

*This way to the country club. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*Lovely lotus that I will also copy. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

We left the resort at 11 am and I showed the girls the reason the place was called Pico de Loro.

*The protruding stone formation looks like the beak of a parrot from another angle. I saw the likeness last Saturday when we were approaching the resort. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

This was a popular hiking destination before it was overrun by amateur hikers that disturbed the flora and fauna of the area. The DENR closed the area permanently since the pandemic began.

Meanwhile, we encountered the monkeys of the mountain pass of Nasugbu and Ternate again. This time, I was ready with my digicam next to me.

*A family of monkeys. I stopped by the road to take a picture, Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*The inventor of the buko pie, hence, the name The Original. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

They ran out of buko pies at 2 pm. Oh well.

*Blueberry cheesecake. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

When we arrived in my hometown, we ate in a resto-bar owned by a high school-mate. After college he took up culinary arts at CCA and decided to open restaurants in our town. Here is Twin I enjoying the blueberry cheesecake pie.

*My favorite chocolate chip cookies. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

Then I dropped by the confectionery that I had been going to for 25 years. This has been my comfort food since my high school days. Love, love, love it. Bought 400g of this to bring home.

*My undergrad college. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

Its facade hasn’t changed much since 20+ years ago. We used to sit on the plant boxes or the steps and just hang out in between classes or just people watch.

I waited for my best friend, T, to finish work so we can have dinner together.

*Sitting under the kalachuchi tree where we used to hang out.*

We were planning our next dinner/lunch probably this weekend but we’ll do it out of town. T then drove me home and I called the girls to talk to Tita T because we were planning to bring the girls to a K-Pop concert in July and August. She and the girls chatted about so many things and we planned to go to S. Korea with the girls. In theory.

So tomorrow I’ll be talking to another contractor for another quote for my apartment. It’s better to shop around. I will decide later if we drive back to QC tomorrow or stay here for another day.

Meanwhile, Ate C said the cats miss me so much that they always slept on my empty bed. I told her not to wash my bed covers so that they can sleep with my smell.

*Kimchi waiting for me outside my bedroom door. Photo sent by Ate C.*

Meanwhile, I’m blogging on my childhood bed.

Of course I can’t sleep early

Posted on 12/06/2022 by admin

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.com*

*The 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.com*

*Stairs 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?

Toasted

Posted on 12/06/2022 by admin

I’m freaking toasted and my body hurts.

*Kayaking for two hours. Photo by ArtCave.*

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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A post shared by Larrissa Williams 🧝🏻‍♀️ (@prana_and_soul)

Hmmmm

Posted on 11/06/2022 by admin

*Beach* *at Hamilo Coast. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

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.

*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.

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Hello, love

Posted on 11/06/2022 by admin

*Nasugbu, Batangas*–*Ternate, Cavite. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I’m back to the sea ❤️

*My kids enjoying the pool first. Overlooking the lagoon. Photo by* CallMeCreation.com

I’m still recovering from the 3-hr, caffeine-fueled drive along that long mountain pass where monkeys and cows freely roam.

Taking my influencer shot.

*It’s gonna rain. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

Obstruction

Posted on 10/06/2022 by admin

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.

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.

I must finish packing.

Stories from the sidelines

A journalist has a life other than news