No long weekend 😑

Posted on January 22, 2023 by admin

Well, the Lunar New Year fell on a Sunday and the government neglected to declare a non-working holiday… so we had to leave for Manila during lunch time today.

I went out to buy my handmade shampoo bar and dishwashing liquid from the local weekend market. I also bought brunch for me and my twins… Not happy with our food 🙄 I should have stuck with the artisanal breads.

I also bought vegetables to bring with me to QC because I knew I wouldn’t have any time to spare to shop for veggies when I get home.

By the time we left my mom’s house, the traffic jam was already bad near the hot spring resort areas. This is a sign of what is to come this summer. 🤦‍♀️

Right now, I’m already racking my brain regarding the logistics of moving houses. I will be leaving mid-May and that is the height of traffic jams in this part of the world. I have to do the major move on a week day. If I do it on a weekend, my cargo truck will be stuck on the road for 5 hrs.

*Sign of things to come. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

We went straight to Mitsukoshi in BGC to check out what’s there. Our main destination is Kinokuniya.

*Checking out the manga on display. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

The girls got excited by the large selection of manga in Japanese and English.

*I think their selection of manga and the number of aisles devoted to it is larger here than in Kinokuniya at Takashimaya in Singapore*. *Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

My girls were crestfallen when they saw the price of each manga volume. 😁 So they’re just going to stick readinmg manga online.

As for the stationery… 🥱 That was a big disappointment. It was just the usual Fullybooked fare. I wish Loft or Maruzen would open a branch here.

But I did find a few stationery items outside Kinokuniya x Fullybooked, like Sailor fountain pens and other ink brands. They also carry Travelers Notebook refills but not the leather notebook covers. No Hobonichi as well.

*Fountain pen inks. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

We checked the accessories section and got stuck there. Well, the girls got stuck because they were overwhelmed with the earrings choices.

*The* *girls choosing their earrings carefully. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

In the end it was only Twin I who bought earrings with her money in her Maya account. Twin A decided to save her money to prepare for the February Fair in my university hometown because they will be hanging out with their review center friends.

*I finally found this umbrella brand. Wohoo! Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I bought my first Waterfront umbrella in Asakusa, Tokyo and I never took it out of my handbags. My current umbrella is almost six years old and is still going strong. It’s small, very lightweight, and yet sturdy. Perfect for sudden rainshowers in the city or when I travel abroad.

I didn’t find Prior by Shiseido in the cosmetics area. *sigh* I can’t even find it online.

We tried the food court but our choice was not a good one (Tenya) and we were not happy… again.

To make up for our disappointment in food and stationery, we went to Fresh, Mitsukoshi’s supermarket.

This time, we were satisfied with what we saw. And bought.

I finally was able to buy: light miso paste (a whole bag weighing 800g!) for less than PhP 200, dashi, bonito flakes, green tea powder, cooking sake, tsuyu for cold soba, and Japanese ramen that are cheaper than what are sold in SM and online.

And beer.

I wanted to buy one for each variant but it will be too heavy to carry to the car.

*Because, why not? Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

Next time I drop by here, I will take home with me the canned goods and seasonings ❤️ Mitsukoshi Manila is still on soft opening and only a few vendors and brands are still being carried. The food court is not yet SG Takashimaya-level in terms of choices but there is potential given that the department store itself is huge and it has sprawling gross floor space, unlike in Mitsukoshi Taipei where everything is crammed into small shelves, sacrificing the presentation of the merchadise. I don’t remember entering a Mitsukoshi in Tokyo so I can’t compare.

I’ll be cooking Japanese this week. 😁

Hero

Posted on August 21, 2022 by admin

Was Ninoy a hero?

He was a spark.

His assassination was a miscalculation on the Marcoses’ part.

He knew he was going to be killed the moment he steps on Philippine soil. But I guess, it was a carefully calculated move on his part.

Primitivo Mijares knew he will be killed writing that book.

He was a spark.

Everyone who got imprisoned and/or killed were sparks.

And when you have multiple sparks then the gasoline tank tips over… You have hell.

Apparently that hell wasn’t enough to burn the Marcoses. Lucifer kicked them out because he will be without a throne if they lingered more.

So now we have them back.

Today we commemorate the assassination of Ninoy at the Manila International Airport (now Ninoy Aquino International Airport). This government wants to change its name back to MIA as part of their historical revisionism. Those who are not poisoned by the Marcoses and their money remember.

At 6:30 am this morning my older sister and I walked to one of the subdivisions outside the university campus to buy food from the pop-up weekend market.

*Good thing it didn’t rain. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*I guess our eyes were hungrier than our stomachs. We bought a lot. Photo by CallMeCreation.*com

*We bought some sourdough bread and sourdough pizza*. *They were pricey but good. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

Also bought some green products like handmade soaps, shampoo bars and reusable feminine pads for me and the girls. I started using cloth napkins last year but the shampoo bars was just a new thing for me. After using one of Human Nature’s shampoo bars for two weeks, I noticed that my hairfall was lesser compared to when I was still using the Korean shampoo I regularly bought. *I hope that this will solve my thinning hair problem. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

After taking our haul back home (burning around 175 kcal), we walked towards the heart of the campus to buy fresh milk and yoghurt again. I saw these mushroom chips but my goodness, this will make uric acid shoot through the roof.

*I love mushrooms but my joints don’t like them. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*Unkept front yard.* *Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

My mother is quite ambitious. Once upon a time she was on an orchid shopping binge, buying all the orchids she fancied and had them mounted on driftwood to mimic the natural habitat of epiphytes. But then she’s really not a gardener so she just left it to the househelp to maintain it for her. However, gardening is not a priority in this household.

Even though this side of my mom’s property is not included in my future domain, I told my mom I am commandeering this garden because none of her 3 other children are exhibiting any interest in it. No one protested. They can’t even bothered by it. My sisters do not even like having animals to take care of.

I will plant a lot of roses, yellow bells, and other ornamental plants. Edible plants will be planted in between, like herbs and some salad greens.

The garden that will be legally mine will be this:

Cicadas are having a concert

*I went to the balcony to sketch while I listened to the cicadas and other forest sounds. Photo by CallMeCreation.co*m

*The light was already dying. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*I couldn’t finish because mosquitoes were already eating me alive. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

The following are part of my photo dump from yesterday:

If you’re late for class, this becomes the walkway of shame if you were an underclassman. The high school seniors’ classrooms were just on the right side of this walkway. Most seniors I knew back then often looked out the windows when bored. Which was often. 🤣 But if you happened to be a high school senior yourself, your classmates/batchmates would clap their hands and rain you with catcalls. 😂😂😂

This, my friends, is the walkway to my home. I was so naive before. Some boys would walk beside me and chat while I was going home…and it would take some time before I realized I was “being walked home” by a boy. Hahahaha! Some would ask if they could go under my umbrella because they didn’t bring any. One day a boy I was crushing on often walked me home, especially after theater rehearsals… He is now a happy gay man. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I knew something was wrong. *I had always been a fairy godmother. HOHOHOHOHO! I just don’t know why gay men were/are still attracted to me. LOL.*

Hit by a bug

Posted on August 7, 2022 by admin

I don’t know what happened to me while my girls and I were in SM Marikina. My head was pounding and then I felt like I was going to have a fever. When we got home at almost 10 pm, I just ate a quick dinner of smoked salmon and rice and I fell on my bed immediately. Still in my “outdoor” clothes. I knew the girls were going in and out of my room while I was sleeping and I remember telling them not to turn on my fan or aircon because I felt cold already. Now it’s 5 am and I am wide awake 👀

*A basic phone for my Starhub sim. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I bought this basic phone from SM Marikina yesterday so I can have my Starhub SIM constantly on roaming. You see, I have forfeited the dual sim capabilities of my Oppo Reno 7 Z by having a 400GB micro sd card occupy the slot that could have accommodated a second SIM. My storage is more important than my dual SIM. Because I have 8k photos that aren’t in the cloud.

Why have the Starhub on constant roaming? This way it won’t expire like the last time. If I have this sim always on, I will remember to top up when it is nearing the 180-day expiration. I also have some OTPs sent to this number. I also have this number as an alternative mobile so that my Singapore contacts can use this to reach me.

Same thing when I’m abroad. I need my Smart SIM to be constantly on roaming because of OTPs and sms that I should pay attention to.

This only costs PhP 1,299 and is the basic phone brand of Realme, that Shenzen, China-based phone maker. I could have gone for the cheaper ones but I read their battery lives are short. If I were to waste money on something I could live without, then might as well waste it on something with higher quality.

*Another piercing. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I granted Twin I’s wish of having another set of ear piercings so she can have multiple earrings in one ear. I just let her be; as long as I have money, I let them express their individuality. They’re good kids anyway. My younger sister had multiple ear piercings when we were in high school so…

I also wasted money again on eyeglasses. I bought a second pair because I no longer want to be in that place of insecurity, with the fear of losing my only pair. My eyesight is that bad that I cannot function without it. I realized that I can no longer wear contact lenses for the entire day. I dunno why.

I could have gotten cheaper frames but those mean ugly shapes or they’re very thin and wouldn’t support my lenses that are already heavy and thick even if they’re the “ultra thin” variety. I checked out Lenskart in SG if they had decent frames at the price I’m willing to pay, but of course they don’t. And they bought Owndays a month ago or so. For the price of frames and lenses that Owndays offer, they’re pretty expensive compared to the branded ones on sale (30-40%) from EO here in Manila. It also includes the lenses.

*Vera Wang. I initially was going for Zac Posen but this matched my face better*

I got a Vera Wang pair. Very Vera Wang if you ask me 😂. I could wear it with her USD 10,000 gowns. I could have gone Cath Kidston but my girls said the floral prints on Cath Kidston bags don’t translate well on eyeglasses. They were right. The Ann Taylor ones on sale aren’t different from my current one, so what’s the point?

*Grocery shopping at SM Hypermarket, SM Marikina. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

And I went overboard with my grocery shopping last night. Was almost 2x over budget. 😑 Oh well, as long as my echoserang froglets are well fed, then it’s money well spent.

*While waiting for our turn at the counter.*

I’m sleepy again.

Manpower issues

Posted on July 31, 2022 by admin

Oh geez, this tita can no longer keep up with the millennials. My friend B and I were convinced by the Filipino journo friends we had drinks with last Friday…to stay up past 3 am. I was so trashed the following day that I only got to do my grocery shopping at 3 pm.

*I had 4 pints that night. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*I kept on staring at this chandelier, counting 1-10 and assuring myself I was fine. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I wanted to put that kind of chandelier in my future bathroom

*Some local Pinoy and visiting journos.*

There were so many conferences this past week, which allowed fellow Pinoy journos to gather in one place and exchange chismis. These were former Bloomberg TV Philippines/TV5/Businessworld people. One is an anchor/SEAsia reporter for CNBC, the other one is already a senior producer/editor/journo at CNA, and another is a Bloomberg reporter transferring now to their Jakarta office from Manila bureau. Others are from MSN and a commodities trade magazine.

We all had the same complaints: WE CANNOT HIRE IN SINGAPORE. ZERO TALENT.

Two of these people here I have already poached in the past. Of course they wouldn’t jump ship because they’re already the same level as me. The others are really meant for broadcast. So basically we’re all competing for a very small pool of unqualified locals because we’re all having problems with MoM barriers. What I found out is that they can go around the limitations by hiring at S-Pass levels and just hit the maximum payscale at that level so they can get people from abroad. Unfortunately, I cannot do that since 1) we’re an MNC so it’s harder for me because of reputational risks; 2) we’ve already hit our quota.

And of course, there is no way I can hire a local PR or citizen. For the PR, they are so much sought after that I cannot afford them. For the citizens…mehhhhhh. I will just kill myself by imposing this kind of headache if I hire local.

I told my bosses that there is no way I can fulfill London’s orders so I’m poaching from our HK bureau and sold SG so much to her. She’s flying in September to cover two conferences and if she likes it, I will facilitate her transfer. I can tell I will not be loved by the HK bureau chief/current manager.

I can also try poaching from our Australia bureau…

I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

*My first meal of yesterday at round 2 pm. Thank God for the Kopitiam near my hotel. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*Shopping at the nearby Fairprice. CallMeCreation.com*

I’m a coffee runner since the world began. For some reason my good friend G and my brother-and-SIL tandem like the local Gold Roast coffee here. So here I am, in danger of going overweight on my baggage.

*The much needed foot reflexology. SO lovely. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

There is also a nearby reflexology place. This is the reason why I like staying in places like Lavender; neighborhoods like this have affordable options.

I fell asleep there while I had the 90 mins foot and back reflexology combo.

*Walkathon. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

*Waiting for my gradeschool/highschol friend. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

So my my good friend, who transferred here during the lockdowns of 2020, and I agreed to meet here so we can have nice talk amid the fireworks and the lights show. Her studio is a chaos right now because her mom and sister had been staying there for a week now or so. Plus of course, we wouldn’t be able to talk about sensitive stuff because they’re around.

*With The Fullerton Hotel at the background.*

She had been my best friend in elementary and I was always at their house because my piano teacher lived nearby. So every Saturday after my lessons, I walked over to her house to hang. We kind of drifted apart in second year high school because we thought we’re too cool for each other to hang out together. She joined the rich kids clique while I joined another popular kids clique. But we later realized it was stupid (teenagers…) We were still in each other’s lives though and all throughout our 32 years of friendship, we were always just a phone call away.

*The view from the Singapore River walk.*

It has been more than 5 years since we saw each other face-to-face but we talk almost everyday on FB Messenger that’s why it didn’t feel like we haven’t seen each other that long. I’m the one who knows EVERYTHING about her life post-separation from her husband. Like every graphic detail. LOL.

I’m helping her now find another law firm doing M&As here in SG because her current one sucks. It’s a local so no wonder.

It’s kind of funny. They have an oversupply of lawyers and bankers here while there is a dearth of journos since there is no free press here.

Ok, I must take a shower now and attend church at 10 am.

More than what we have bargained for

Posted on June 26, 2022 by admin

So we went to UP riding our bikes to buy vegetables. We are now on stage One Entire Week of Being Carless.

*Water break. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

Everything was going well even though we went out at almost noon, so there was danger that we will get fried.

*Got two bags of veggies for only PHP 680. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

We went to Nomu, the milktea place beside Bahay ng Alumni.

When we were waiting for our teas, I heard a loud “pop!” And that sickening hissing sound.

*A flat tire. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

The stupid thing here was I took the longer route going to the UP gate near Krus na Ligas. I told the girls to bike their way into Science while I walk with my bike and then we’ll just meet at the corner where we used to turn right going into Science.

*While waiting for the girls. Photo by CallMeCreation.com*

I guess I was bad at giving them directions so we spent the better part of that hour trying to find each other. After several video calls, they finally located me at that corner where they were supposed to meet me.

When we finally agreed how to proceed, I let the girls bike to the Krus na Ligas exit while I walked again.

Long story short, the guy at the bike shop along CP Garcia Ave fixed my tire by changing the interior and said that I had a busted tire pin. Good thing I had extra money then to buy a new tire interior.

Then off we rode our bikes back home. Got home after four freaking hours.

Gee, I am so tired.

I need to buy more wicking running shirts from Decathlon if I am to do this again regularly.

I PROMISE I WILL EXERCISE MORE SO I WOULD NO LONGER BE FAT.

Damn it.

I’m tired of feeling ugly and worthless.

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Homeward bound

Posted on June 13, 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.

Stories from the sidelines

A journalist has a life other than news

Tag Archives: food shopping