Blog is Three: Here's Ten Whatevers

 When you have a blog and see that you’ve made six blog entries at this point of the year—add to that the shocking fact that your blog just turned three years old today—suddenly your life goes into turmoil, thinking what to write? What to write? What to freakin’ write!? After some thought, I’ve come into the realization that the easiest topic where words need not much thought nor research is when I talk about myself. As a treat for myself, here are ten random whatevers about me…simply because I’m not in the right mindset to think about more important matters as of present:

1.  The best years of my life happened when I was 16 and 21 years old. Those were graduating years, because I really enjoy the idea of new life chapters, plus school works were far lesser than usual—and the bonding with friends are more intense because we know we’re about to part ways for longer than just a weekend. These were years when I felt my stomach churn out of excitement for what’s coming (yep, I’m more of a future-inclined person.) There were a lot of life-changing decisions I made those years, decisions that I would look back from time to time and still smile about at this point. The worst years happened not so long ago . . . BUT I can feel the bestest ones are about to happen not so long from now (I told you I’m a future-anticipating person.)

     2.  I was named after Saint Marie Eugenie, the founder of the Religious of the Assumption, because almost all of my aunts were Assumptionistas, yet I never really went to Assumption school for three reasons: I was afraid of being a target in the school because of my name; I was too clingy with my parents back then and didn’t want to live across the Guimaras Strait; and finally…I liked being in a co-ed school, an all-girls school never really appealed to me. Harot!

     3.  I was never a fan of boy bands or girl groups (except Celtic Women) because I prefer the sound of a solo vocalist or duet. So yes, Backstreet Boys, N’ SYNC, Spice Girls, and all other 90’s bands were not in my childhood. While my contemporaries were busy drooling over Nick Carter, I preferred going gaga over Michael Jackson, Kenny G and Richard Clayderman (Yes, I’ve been into long haired men since the day I saw Prince Adam of Beauty and the Beast.)

     4.  My ability to not retain much in my memory bank has caused me a lot of awkward moments. I’m terrible at remembering faces, and even more so at recalling names of people. Some of my more embarrassing encounters were: mistaking the parish priest to be the husband of my cousin, mistaking my friend’s mom as my teacher in grade school (I even said the whole “Wait, come back, you look familiar. I know you!” line when she was about to leave because she thought she’s mistaken, lines that my friends still annoy me with!) Another was when the wife of my uncle spoke with me at home and I had no idea it was her I was facing even after the conversation ended (I only realized it was her when I described her face to my mom a few hours after. Urgh!) I can still remember when my cousins would try to introduce themselves every time I went to their house as a child. This is where I truly appreciate the labels of lola, lola, tita, tito, ate, kuya, manong, manang etc. because it has saved me countless times from having to say a random name at someone.

     5.  A couple of my better ideas (especially my plates when I was in college) were conceived while I was in the bathroom. I don’t know if it’s the damp air in a tiny silent space that lets my brain cells collide, but I just remember going out for a toilet break every time I’m stuck on a concept for an artwork or copy.

     6.  Part of my fond childhood memories were spent in the cemetery in one of the cities I lived in. For some introverted reason, I like spending some lazy afternoons in the cemetery, playing with the goats that grazed there or just hung out at the tomb of my relatives. No. . .I don’t see nor talk to dead people. . .I just happen to avoid those alive in the cemetery. I like the contemplative silence in the cemetery, and I’m just weird like that.

     7.  I get restless whenever I had to cut my fingernails short before, until now. Starting Grade 6, I just decided that long fingernails is my thing and that it shouldn’t go less than 1mm—a decision that often got me in trouble at school. Since part of our grade in Deportment is good hygiene…well let’s just say my grades have gotten a couple of points lower because of my constant refusal to cut my nails down to the edge of my skin. I remember being called out of class a couple of times to go to the Disciplinary Officer’s office so that I could cut my nails there…he even provided me with a nail cutter just so I could keep my fingers less lethal. Thank goodness those days are over! From a 90+ in Deportment, I’ve gotten down to 83-85 because of my freakin’ nails!

     8.  I never go out of the house without at least three sprits of perfume or mist on my neck and clothes. I can go out with just combing my hair with my fingers and tie it into a bun, but I cannot smell like bad sweat. If for some they feel naked without their wristwatch, I feel incomplete without my scent. Actually I don’t have a signature scent because I like switching my perfume after I consume the whole bottle, but one of my more constant go-to for a casual day out is Victoria’s Secrets’ Enchanted Apple (because it has a nostalgic effect on me) other staples that are cheaper options are Bench’s Handsome Girl (because they phased out Naughty and Nice—GRR!) but if I do have some extra cash, I like David & Victoria Beckham Signature for Her. I remember a scene in high school when a friend who was blindfolded for an activity said, “I know it’s you. Your scent is familiar.” Without me having to say anything, I just stood beside him and immediately he muttered those words. I was quite flattered when he said that, one of the reasons why I love spritzing.

     9.  Horses are my spirit animal and dream pet. I have a great fascination for them as young as I could remember. My constant birthday wish to my parents since I was a wee lass was either a pony or a horse—of course that never came true, but if fate allows, I still consider owning my own horse someday . . . some day. I’d even point and scream “HORSE!” every time I spotted one on the side of the road during our trips to the province. The sight of them makes me happy. One of the most elated feelings I had was around second year college, when the one pulling the horse during a horseback riding trip let go of the rope and allowed me to steer the horse on my own. I can still distinctly recall the fear and exhilaration I had when I felt the horse galloped and I was left to cling onto the reins as my body hopped against the saddle. I felt so free and alive and proud that very moment. It was amaaaaaaaaaazing!

     10.  I enjoy mythology, the paranormal and the occult, but I’m not fond of horror movies; I prefer reading or watching documentaries on the topic. The series Ancient Aliens amuses me especially Giorgio Tsoukalos. Other shows I watch are Destination Truth, Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. One of the first books I read outside of my school textbooks were short stories of Homer’s Odyssey Greek and Roman Mythology. 

Thoughts of a Silent Fan

I’ve been stopping myself from posting this because I’ve been waiting for September 26 to happen before I sit here and lose a couple hours of sleep, again. Just the other morning I was out with my parents, right after exiting the hospital my mom asked where we should go, whether or not we should eat lunch out; I stared at my clock (11:30am) then blurted, “Uwi na tayo!” The moment I stepped in the house, I dropped all things and turned on the TV. I just gave up the possibility of having a decent meal and chose to eat leftover food just so I didn’t miss the Kalyeserye. WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME!? 

Le Jardin and le Mousse Au Chocolat

I've seen the blog posts and the photos, but never occurred to me that I should go and dine in Le Jardin because: one, it's expensive, and two, I never chanced upon it. Now I know why...it's located at the penthouse of W Fifth Building, the building that seems to be inspired by Minecraft with all the boxy-pixilated blues. Anyway, we came looking for Black Sheep, but the guard said it closed down and recommended Le Jardin instead. Why not? We were bored, had time, and didn't want to go home just yet. 

I had to edit this a lot because of so much blue in the original shot.

Skip everything else...the place was empty, so I loved it. The interiors were clean resembling that of a French villa with lots of white, plus it has a birds-eye-view of the city. And even you can spot shanties in between the concrete slabs of different hues, it's a charm that reminds you of being in Metro Manila despite all the fancy knickknacks. And even if lacks a certain degree of jardin in the Jardin, it's a nice place to sit back for an afternoon coffee or tea. 

The coffee was okay...not as tasty as the ones you get from other cafes, but you'll get by. 

It's their chocolate mousse that I want to commend more than anything. The pièce de résistance of my visit. We also tried their berry cheesecake, but this huge morsel right here fulfilled my craving of a really good mousse cake. The consistency and the taste was spot on...and it's also only Php140 a slice, it was even bigger than the average slice that most cafes offer these days. The taste reminded me of the mousse being served in Chateau 1771 which is my favorite, only here it's cheaper and bigger! 

The best part is that after 9pm, if they're about to get new batches of cakes, they sell their cakes at 50% off!!! What more can you ask for? It's just a matter of knowing when though. 

Triple Chocolate Mousse (Php140.00)

Polymer Food Things

I just wanted to make sure I post something for July right before it ends and my birthday month begins. Sooooooooooo excited for what's ahead! <3

These are some of my new handcrafted creations that I did for our bazaar at 98B's Saturday Future x Market in Escolta, an awesome place for independent artists to sell their creations. It was our first time to sell in the location and despite the really humid weather that made us sweat icky stuff, the turnout was actually better than bazaars in malls. I personally love it there, if it weren't so hot and far from my place.  

I'll be posting more about it soon, but for now I gotta rush out to meet up with friends to work on a new project that we hope to release by next month! 

A Day and One-fourth in Hanoi

This is right across St. Joseph Cathedral. I wanted to go to Hanoi House Cafe, but we didn't have time. :(

When I saw the fire trees were in full bloom during a recent roadtrip to Dumaguete, I reminisced the same fiery sight I stared at in Vietnam and how the flowering tree popped the place with its deep orange color--and then it occurred to me--it's been a year since my Indochina trip! Funny how it took this long for me to make a post, considering the excitement I had  to update my blog when I arrived in Manila back then. zzzZZZzzz... 

What I did find is a short paragraph of how I described Hanoi during our first night at our hotel. I wrote:

"Staring down from the airplane window, I could see the city lights of Hanoi and how far it is from the airport, a pitch black gap distanced the two. We're thankful that our hotel, May de Ville Backpackers Hostel, provided us with a free shuttle service...even if the driver was half-asleep and almost crashed the car several minutes in. I was about to have a my flashback-of-my-whole-life scene but our panic thankfully woke him up, making the 45-minute ride to the hostel more memorable than most. We arrived at our place in the city's old district at 2AM, so it's no surprise that it was dead quiet and unalive." -May 21, 2014

The Gourmand Market

Although it was a totally bad idea to have decided to drop by the event after pigging out at Niu, causing me not to get excited at the sight of food AND not want to eat any more despite how pretty they all looked because I was still recovering from a food coma. Instead, what I found delight in was the whole set up of the place, transforming the site into a very rustic-vibe market with the whole crates and pot with dainty flowers thing going on. I had no camera with me, but the place was too pretty to ignore that I decided to use my cellphone to take the pictures instead. It was high-noon when I got to the place that I could not see what I was shooting at, but here's a few okay ones that I got at the end of the day.

With so much going on, I didn't really notice what they were selling.

I will never get tired of seeing coffee shops.

Reminds me of the movie props where the car smashes
right into the fruit stand and the pieces fly out the screen.

It was so bright I didn't see my finger was covering the lens.

Added attraction were three poor goats unsure of the whole situation.

This was the first thing that made me want to take photos
even if all I had was my cellphone.

Now, this could have been a better shot had the child chose not to sit there...

Chilled Taho from Holy Carabao for Php50.00

I did buy chilled taho from Holy Carabao to take home, and it was nice with them opting to use the large pearls instead of the typical tapioca ones. The taste though was lacking as compared to the ones being sold by manong taho on the streets...but they did guarantee a sanitary product at least. 

I did try the free samples being given out and the were tasty as the ones your aunt makes. You can feel the love they've put into every morsel of their product.

They provided picnic tables for a communal dining experience with other guests, and the whole setting was really a nice place to hang out in for those who like to be surrounded by food and all things organic.

The event will be until tomorrow at High Street Central...and I'm hoping they do it again soon because it's a pretty place to stroll through a few minutes especially when it's smacked right in the middle of a concrete jungle. 

Cafe by the Ruins

Strawberry Shortcake. A layer of fresh strawberries, shortbread, whipped cream and syrup. Yummehh!

The moment the bus arrived in Baguio city, after almost seven hours of butt-aching travel, we immediately thought "Luuuunch time!" Since we did our research, we knew the place to be was at Cafe by the Ruins. Doing research is one thing, but navigating the actual site posted as a challenge. We called a taxi to take us there and he said, "Lakarin niyo na lang!" and left us. :( It was nowhere in sight! We went to another taxi and asked him to take us there, and he said, "Mag jeep na lang kayo!" :(( At least he was kind enough to assist us and instruct the jeepney driver to take us there. It was the right decision not to walk all the way to the Chuntug branch from where we were at. We arrived at Cafe by the Ruins and was 16th on the waiting list. :((( On our way back to Manila we realized that there was actually another Cafe by the Ruins two blocks away from the Victory Liner bus terminal. :(((( I managed to buy a bottle of their fresh milk for Php120.00 before getting on the bus. It was so fresh that it got sour on the third day and I only managed to drink half of its content. D: Although interior-wise, I prefer the one at Chuntug St. than the one in Upper Session Road.

Despite the setbacks, their Tita Susie's Crispy Tapa alone was worth the trouble.