PMS craving and CNY plans

Posted on 28/01/2022 by admin

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.

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.

I need to get out!

Lunar New Year

Posted on 27/01/2022 by admin

*At SM Marikina. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I’m running out of time trying to finish a long piece before the whole of Asia goes on holiday for the Lunar New Year. People in Hong Kong and Malaysia will be slowing down tomorrow and everyone will be off the entire week next week.

I haven’t been really productive as I should have been because I’m always sleepy during the day. I woke up at 5 am today after sleeping at around past 3 am to cook breakfast. Ate C was sick after getting her booster shot so I had to take over.

Slept at 6 am again then got woken up at 7 because the cats kept opening my door (since it’s broken, it had no resistance). I desperately wanted a quick shuteye so I threw out the cats, stuck something to my door so they can’t push it, and slept. But work beckoned at 9 am. 😕

Enough is enough. I went to SM Marikina this evening to buy a barrel lock, some door handles, wood glue and other stuff.

*It’s ugly AF but it does the job. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

That should keep out the cats. I’ll solve the ugliness later.

During the small hours that I’m awake, I try to make myself fall asleep by thinking of projects I must do. One of those times I thought about removing my piano setup near the stairs and replace it with some drawers to corral my kids’ stuff that overflowed from their small study area.

*Now it’s neater. That painting above was done by my sister. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

Bike helmets, shopping bags, and cat supplies are also stuffed in there.

And of course, my cats have started to claim the area as their own.

Now I need to go to Mr DIY again for fake indoor plants/flowers. Because cats.

Almost real carbonara

Posted on 27/01/2022 by admin

I cooked carbonara for dinner last night using the near-authentic recipe. I didn’t have the Italian guanciale so I used the closest thing: pork that is used to make bacon.

I fried the pork in its own fat while I whisked 4 eggs with hard cheddar cheese (I didn’t have a block of parmesan; I had mozzarella but that’s too soft). When the pork fat was rendered, I turned the heat down and combined the spaghetti with the pork and coated it with the little oil that came out. When everything was coated, I turned off the heat and added the eggs with cheese. I made sure the eggs did not curdle and come out like scrambled eggs. When the egg-cheese combination made the pasta creamy, I immediately served it to my waiting customers.

They liked it. It’s less heavy compared to the bastardized version of carbonara with cream, butter and bell peppers.

Add ground pepper for a little bit of ooomph.

Later, I played this on my mobile phone:

Because I wanted to be brainless.

I have two analysis pieces to rewrite 🤦🏻‍♀️. And couple of more leads to follow up. My poaching of journos are always unsuccessful. Either they’re jumping to VC firms or they just wanna stay put because chasing deals from USD 5m to infinity is not their cup of tea.

It’s hard to recruit people in non-English-speaking markets!!!

One of these days I’ll turn to RPGs to decompress. Buy a Nintendo Switch and play Legend of Zelda.

Or live in Anilao and jump into the sea when I feel stressed.

WTF! It’s 6 am and I’m still awake. How am I going to work today?!

I need to sleeeeeep. 😴

Refreshing

Posted on 25/01/2022 by admin

woman filling job application form in office with boss — Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com

I did an interview this morning with a CEO of a private equity firm and it was a refreshing one-hour conversation about investment strategies, industry talk–all the things that other people don’t care about but I find interesting. It pulled me out of this funk that I am in and this made me want to write the story immediately. But I had to attend to more pressing matters first (like pending edits and emails).

His story of why he is doing what he is doing and what made him start was inspiring. He said it started with curiosity and having the guts to jump into a plane and see what was out there. He believes more in the gut feel of an entrepreneur than the dictates of the “guys in a suit” (a.k.a. the MBAs, the finance guys).

This what keeps me going. The stories. The good stories.

Ok there’s a breaking story that I had to react to and I had to email a couple of people regarding this breaking news. I might be writing late into the night because of this.

So this CEO was telling me, it’s curiosity that propelled him to become an entrepreneur–which is so far from his background of bio-engineering from MIT. Meanwhile, it is my natural curiosity and need for answers that propelled me to become a journalist. The same traits but different paths. He became rich while I’m still a “starving artist”. Would I have it any other way? I don’t know. Maybe I won’t be as happy. It’s my creative passions that move me while this other person is moved by the art of deal-making and proving a point.

It’s the breaking stories (like the one I mentioned above) that keep my adrenaline pumping. I’m completely wired differently and maybe that’s what frustrates other people.

Geez, here I am, working on US Eastern time again, firing away emails at almost 9 pm. Being an annoying journalist at weird hours. Working some stuff that would allow me to fly to Bangkok in July. IF I CAN.

Halved

Posted on 24/01/2022 by admin

close up shot of white smoke — Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Pexels.com

I’m in this very weird state since the middle of January where I feel like my soul is torn in half and one half lives in a different time zone. I still can’t get my body clock fixed so I only fall asleep when there’s already daylight peeking through my curtains. I work in weird time shifts. I know it’s impolite but I only get to reply to emails at night. I start editing in the afternoon; I catch on sleep at daytime. And I don’t even have caffeinated drinks at all.

This is utterly weird.

I don’t know if I’m keeping Mumbai or London time. Sometimes it’s worse, it’s like US Eastern time. This always makes me feel tired and unproductive.

Where is my other half wandering? I need to pull it back and keep myself whole.

And I’m also in this confusing stage right now where I suddenly want to postpone building my flat to stay here in Quezon City longer. I want to stay away from family. I don’t know why I’m in this funk. It’s like I’m missing something.

But things are changing. My girl, Twin I, is already a lady. She had her first menstrual period last week. Her way of thinking is also has matured and it’s like I’m already talking to an adult mini-me. I have to move so that my girls can have more independence without sacrificing their safety.

I don’t know, I’m really confused. I really have to get my other half back from wandering around so I can make logical decisions and not half-assed ones based on feelings. Screw feelings.

This entire weekend was stressful due to politics. I should refrain from opening my Facebook and Twitter accounts to avoid these stressors.

Because this coward, according to my industry grapevine, demanded advance questions before agreeing to a panel interview. All other presidential aspirants (except for Ka Leody de Guzman, who was not invited) were ok with the interview without knowing what questions would be asked. This ball-less coward wanted a codigo (cheat sheet) because he is stupid. He doesn’t even have a platform. And he would look doubly stupid on national TV for stammering his way out of an interview asking him about his platforms, issues thrown by detractors, and questions of how is he going to solve pressing issues once he becomes president.

Of course, this journo wouldn’t agree to such arrangement. Even I would have thrown a fit at such demand.

As expected social media exploded with this issue; Marcos trolls went on overdrive and they went tearing down Leni. It was so stressful.

As every one knows, Marcos has an army of social media trolls working to prop him up and erase history since 2014.

Twitter Removes Hundreds of Accounts Linked to Philippines’ Marcos Jr.
The Diplomat

I keep up with news through Twitter, FB for community news. Dang, I have to avoid them. I should just keep to my Nikkei subscription, and probably Financial Times and The Economist.

Lack of empathy

Posted on 23/01/2022 by admin

Let me tell you about people’s disconnect from the realities of this world. Their bubble and the lack of resistance in life made them what they are… They lack empathy. I’ve met humans like that and I honestly wish I won’t come into contact with them ever again.

Follow this thread on Twitter, it’s interesting and it hurts.

since we're talking about wharton I would like to share some of my experiences there as a low-income undergrad. so at penn, there are more students in the top 0.1% income bracket than in the bottom 20%. only about 3% of the student body are from the bottom 20%— I was one of them
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

my freshman year, I told a classmate I had a full ride to penn ($80k/year tuition) because my parents make only $10k/year, and they replied "you're so lucky, I have to pay full tuition cause my parents make too much money" lmaooooOoOo
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

I graduated in 2020 & while I was there it always felt cutthroat, it always felt like low-income people were morally below those with wealth and status, anything "cool" costed thousands of dollars to join, and everyone was supposed to go into finance and work at goldman sachs.
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

not all, but wayyyy too many wharton students I worked with were honestly dumb as hell, out of touch with reality, had no critical thinking skills, and were probably at wharton because their last name is on a building somewhere on campus
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

I had a legal studies class where a classmate argued that sweat shops were ethical and good because people made more money than they would without them. I had a management class where someone argued racial inequality does not exist anymore.
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

in one class our professor showed us this chart of the distribution of wealth inequality in the country, and he asked the class to vote for which distribution they wanted to live in. majority voted the top one. prof then asked class if they were born again in a different pic.twitter.com/9Yaf3ghISX
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

family and statistically would end up in a lower bracket, which wealth distribution they'd want. majority of class still voted the top one- they wanted wealth inequality to remain as it was. and that's prob cause they don't realize the median income is like $30k/year but lol…
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

as you can see from the chart, most americans want less wealth inequality. at wharton, in a class full of students who will likely become people that can influence what inequality actually looks like, the majority wanted more wealth inequality. it keeps me up at night sometimes
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

I did a leadership retreat my junior year with a group of students who were all leaders (held a president/VP role) across different organizations at penn. facilitators had us play a little income inequality game. you're given different amounts of money at the start of the game
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

and the goal is to make more, but rules are rigged so that it's easier to make money the more money you have, so basically people that started out rich stay rich and vice versa.
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

anyways the group debriefs after the game and i'm like maybe people will have normal obvious takes like "social mobility is hard" or "income inequality sucks" but one guy said something like "poor people are unable to make good decisions in our society so they can't advance"
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

& another girl followed up with "yeah poor people just aren't as smart" and I looked around to see if the 4 adult facilitators in the room were gonna say something like "actually you can't say that" or "that's not true tina" but everybody just kept going like nothing happened
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

it finally got to my turn to speak so I was like "hey joshua and tina…what do u mean by poor people don't make good decisions bc i'm POOR btw but here we all are at a leadership retreat." they doubled down and talked about illiteracy rates, graduation rates, etc., as if those
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

fully well you had low-income students in the room. and then one of the facilitators started crying??? and she was like sorry we've never had a situation like this in all my years facilitating this retreat and I didn't say this cus she was so sad but I doubt it was the first time
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

a bunch of rich students said headassery shit about poor people, it was probably just the first time you had a poor kid in the group who didn't wanna take it. but anyways I left that retreat thinking about how those kids are all going to graduate and go into positions of power
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

and make decisions that affect many people, and I wonder if those decisions will ever appropriately factor in people from marginalized communities. and idk if me being there and saying something made the slightest difference, but I really do hope so.
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

lol one time a friend (financially well off) invited me to her apartment and offered me a glass of wine and when I got home she venmo charged me $2 for it and honestly that was probably the most oppressive thing I experienced all 4 years at penn (i'm joking but also like fr)
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

anyways, there were definitely amazing friends I've made at penn, and shout out to the professors who sent me free copies of required text when I told them I couldn't afford their $400 online readings, but penn/wharton need to do a better job of changing the culture they have
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

and think more seriously about who they want to shape as future leaders in the world beyond just legacy students. when the majority of your students come from the top 10% income bracket, there is a serious disconnect from the rest of the world, and that needs addressing pic.twitter.com/LBxQCamoDV
— soup (@jasminericegirl) January 21, 2022

No, this is not only about UPenn. This is everywhere. I remember having to hear such similar litany regularly before. And I wondered why this person even bothered talking to me or being with me at that moment. This person couldn’t believe that there are people who could not afford to pay the full amount for a bottle of shampoo so poor families resort to buying sachets of shampoo because that’s all they could afford for the day. Because they had to make 500 pesos or 350 pesos fit for everyone in their family for a day. Everyday. 365 days a year.

This type of person couldn’t understand the sachet economy that is the Philippines. That not everybody can afford to buy their daily needs from supermarkets and had to rely on sari-sari stores for their groceries–despite the fact that they pay 1.5 or even 2x the retail price–because the sari-sari stores can sell them goods on credit.

And this person just thinks the poor are just numbskulls that’s why they stay poor. This person does not understand that when you’re at the lower level of the pyramid, it’s hard to climb, even if poor people work 18 hours a day. There are just too many hurdles strewn around those at the poverty line compared to people like me who lead a relatively comfortable life. I’m not even rich. I drive a crappy car, I don’t own a house. I don’t have financial security.

And yet these people will be the ones running companies, making public policies, make big and small decisions that can add or lessen the obstacles for the poor. The lack of empathy among this kind of people is disturbing.

Because I’m not in a good mood today, I slept almost the entire day. And then fixed my container garden.

*New location. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I relocated my plants because placing them under the huge mango tree was a big mistake. They were shaded, fell victim to caterpillars, aphids, and other pests, neighborhood cats kept digging the soil, and the overall vibe was bad. So a lot of my plants died and these are the hardier ones. The roses lost many leaves and the flowering became dormant.

Now I’ve put white stones so the outdoor cats wouldn’t dig again. I bought flowering fertilizers to revive the roses. My sunflower was completely lost to caterpillars. The periwinkle died of root rot or some fungal infection. The mums and the daisies stopped flowering maybe because the location was not optimal.

I had to redo everything.

This is my goal:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rika ガーデン/ビオトープ/インテリア (@r_6cafe)

She just completely transformed her condo balcony into a country-style garden.

More or less we have the same size to work with. She has more patience and time than I do though.