Category: personal

happy things

Some cheer to wash away the sadness of the previous post.

I got my new glasses! Ms Sarabia even gave me this cute case for them.

Purple frames!

Lunch date at ROC in UP Diliman.

Starbucks with HGC peeps. (Photos by Jme.)

Watch-a-ton with Jake. :) We saw two episodes of Through the Wormhole (“Is Time Travel Possible?” and “What Happened Before the Big Bang?”, which also questioned the Big Bang), Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant (smart, sensitive, sad), and The Pixar Story. Did you know that in the first draft of Toy Story, Buzz was red and small and Woody was completely obnoxious? Disney almost shut down production LOL.

Bonus: Jaykie’s (pseudo)annoyed face, after I combed his hair flat haha. <3

That’s all for now. :)

fire

MANILA, Philippines – Fire razed the public market in Hagonoy, Bulacan Wednesday night, destroying an estimated P15 million-P20 million worth of property and affecting the livelihoods of 300 market vendors.

Fire officials said the fire started at 7:30 p.m. and quickly razed a large portion of the market. It also destroyed 5 houses near the market.

Fire Superintendent Absalon Sipadan, chief of the Hagonoy fire department, said the fire had reached the second alarm by 8 p.m. after local firemen could not contain the blaze. He said the local fire department has only 2 fire trucks, both of which are already old.

He said fire trucks from neighboring towns arrived to help put out the fire.

Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado said the public market has been in place for the past 25 years.

Firefighters have yet to determine what started the fire.

Source.

I heard about the tragedy from my mother through text around 11 p.m. that Wednesday night. The text was so matter-of-fact that I thought it was a missent message, or a joke. The entire store and the bodega burned down. That can’t be right.

“Don’t you know?” she said when I called her. I work in a newspaper, so she thinks I know everything that happens. This isn’t always the truth.

So it was true. That store was there even before I was born; I never thought I’d see it destroyed in my lifetime. The family routine revolved around the business: my father would wake up at 4 am every day, around noon someone from the store would drop by the house to pick up their lunch, every Tuesday my mother went on a bus to Divisoria to buy stuff wholesale. I have several shirts with the words ATO & BELEN STORE stamped on a sleeve – we gave it away to customers during Christmas. (We also gave away pails and basins and coin purses – vendor necessities.) When I brought Jake home the stories my father told him was about the store; before we left my father said, “Daan muna kayo ng tindahan ha?” (Drop by the store first, okay?)

My parents had a TV there, and a stove, and a wooden bench made by my grandfather. It was stocked to the brim. Just one night of fire and –

This was the bodega.

The store.

More pictures. These don’t even begin to show the extent of the damage. The fire reached even the wet market near the river, and those stores where I used to buy candy as a child.

We have another bodega near our house, and some items were salvaged from the fire. My parents found a temporary space. It’s way smaller than our store, and we have to pay a monthly rent on top of the electricity bill, but it’s a start.

Thank you to friends who sent words of comfort and offers of help. Send my parents good vibes. :)

Other stores.

meeting jessica zafra’s optometrist, and other adventures

Friday

I read Jessica Zafra’s blog because I remember loving the Twisted series, and the lady makes me laugh. One day she blogged about her optometrist, Nella Sarabia, who has a shop inside the Shopping Center in UP Diliman. I never needed glasses before, so I didn’t even know there were optical shops inside SC (Ha!). There were comments on Zafra’s post, all of them positive, and my astigmatic right eye is killing me,  and anyway we’d be in the UP area during the weekend because Jaykie is craving for Creme Brulee at Antas-bucks, so I decided to give it a shot.

Here’s my own picture of Ms Sarabia’s shop. Note the vintage cameras.

She’s nice and smart. I like her. What I don’t like is the fact that my eye condition has worsened. From 20/20 and 20/25 last year (hence, the anti-glare glasses to protect my eyes from the evil computer screen) my eyes are now 20/50 and 20/25  (plus another 25 grade for my astigmatism). So that means I have to wear glasses all the time, not just when I’m in front of the computer.

While choosing for a suitable frame for the lenses, Ms Sarabia invited Jaykie to sit beside me. “Are you the boyfriend? Hello.” Then she asked if Jaykie is also a Journalism student.

“No. I’m taking up Math.”

“Grad school,” I said.

“Math?” said Ms Sarabia. “Math?!?” (Pause) “Very good.”

Haha!

Ms Sarabia’s frames were on 30 percent sale, as it turned out, so all in all, I only paid a thousand pesos. The downside: I can’t claim it on the same day, like in the malls where you only have to wait for an hour. But that’s okay. I should have it before this week ends. My frame is a lovely shade of purple.

It’s caterpillar (higad) season in UP. I hate! Argh.

Saturday

Up early for the GA meeting at the office, the first GA meeting that I’ve ever attended that went smoothly. Post-CBA happiness haha! Met up with Jaykie in the afternoon, and watched too much Family Guy and World Poker Tour and got drunk on cheap brandy. That night we watched Episode 2 of Through the Wormhole, called “The Riddle of Black Holes“. Excellent mind-blowing stuff. This is a good show. It’s making me seriously want to take up Physics credits (or Astronomy classes, if there are any offered locally lol).

But then – the math. Shiver.

Sunday

I’m on leave! Ha! Met up with the siblings at the mall, had lunch at Pizza Hut, coffee and sandwiches at UCC, and shopped till we dropped. (I almost did. That was some workout.)

My brother had his eyes checked at the mall. The verdict: 20/175 and 20/50. It was so bad even the ‘E’ on the eye chart was blurred, he said. Wah.

So he got glasses.

I’m wearing my anti-glare glasses here.

They all got home safe and sound. I arrived at the unit, did my laundry, had a shower, and read a book until I fell asleep.

pinoydon, etc

Friday was Jaykie’s grown-up duties day – pick up his paycheck, deposit his savings, pick up his credit card, etc. But before all that we had lunch at Pinoydon at The Podium. It’s a Filipino-Japanese fusion place. I can’t remember the exact name of the dishes we ordered, but I know I had chicken and Jake had beef.

We also ordered some aligue (crab fat) maki. We originally wanted the tuna maki crunch with aligue, but it wasn’t available.

Really yummy. Pinoydon also has interesting desserts.

We had the Banana-Q Split.

Ice cream, whipped cream, pinipig, bananacue. Win!

On Saturday we ordered Pizza Hut’s Chili Beef Hotdog. I haven’t had this pizza before, but after having it for dinner (and today’s breakfast) it’s fast becoming my favorite. While stuffing our faces we watched 30 Rock (“They edited Will and Grace so much it’s now just called Karen.”), Better Off Ted, The Daily Show, and the first episode of this awesome new Morgan Freeman-narrated show, Through the Wormhole.

Episode 1 explores the question, “Is there a creator?” Included in the show are the mathematics of the universe explained via intersecting circles (or the E8 Lie Group) by a surfer bum mathematician (a possible step closer toward the Theory of Everything that Einstein failed to finish), an experiment that tries to prove that God “is in the brain” (activating the right temporal lobe makes a subject feel a presence – a young lady described it as “five faceless entities” who are “awesome” and made her feel safe), and a thought experiment involving a human brain and a laptop placed inside a container (you’ll get it once you see the episode). I liked the God-in-the-brain segment. Says the scientist, if the subject of the experiment felt this comforting presence outside of the experiment area, how do we think will she interpret the experience? Most saints and religious activists (like Martin Luther) felt a sensation of being hit by lightning or some similar burst of power, and read this experience as God, and changed history with their actions (Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic Church and founded Protestantism).

I’m pretty sure I would have understood more if I knew more about quantum mechanics and high-level math, but I found it enjoyable. And hello? It’s narrated by Morgan Freeman? Bet the guy can read my grocery list and make it sound…insightful.

Later that day we had drinks with Jaykie’s sisters and their friend Jai. That’s a good end for my week.

fruits

I don’t eat enough fruits (or even veggies). So on Sunday I bought some. That night I really just wanted to chop up an apple but I discovered my leftover butter pecan ice cream from my dental nightmare day.

And so:

Healthy eating fail. But it was yummeh!

This was my dinner last night. (And also tonight, minus the apples because I was too lazy to chop.)

Grapes, apples, cheese, Spam. I love the colors. :)

I need to lose weight, demmet.

drunk on peanut butter

Several friends have recommended the awesomeness of Peanut Butter Co. I’ve mentioned the restaurant to Jake once or twice, especially when we pass by a branch inside SM North Edsa. It took us this long to finally try it because 1) we’re lazy; and 2) I thought my friends were exaggerating – certainly a sandwich can’t be that good.

We had our lunch there on Friday before I went home to Bulacan. Jake said, “This sandwich will haunt me for the days to come.” I concur. I’m craving for PB Co. right now. :D

We had: (2) White Choco PB Milkshake, (1) Roast beef sandwich (cardamon PB, roast beef, gravy), (1) chili fried chicken sandwich (chili PB, fried chicken fillet, corn), (2)  Cherry 7-Up.

Ang sarap shet.

On Saturday we had PB Co. for dinner. I had (1) Elvis sandwich (crunchy PB, bacon, bananas), (1) Black Forest sandwich (dark choco PB, vanilla cream cheese, cherries), (1) Box of chips. Jaykie had (1) White Chocolate Orange sandwich (white choco PB, vanilla cream cheese, oranges), (1) Box of chips, and (1) Classic Spaghetti. Everything, even the spaghetti, has peanut butter. I’ll have to admit that having two PB Co. sandwiches for dinner is not a good idea (too heavy!) but the food is just so good.

YUM. I WANT MOAR.

Try it. They deliver via City Delivery. (Thanks to Kate and Rissa and Lizzy and Phil for the tip, hehe.)

Also, I wasn’t paid to write this stuff. ;)

rain, obama, victory

It rained on our way to UP on Friday. I was both scared and delighted: scared because it was actually starting to flood; delighted because I’d rather have rain than the scorching summer heat. Before heading to AS to hang out with the HGC boys, we passed by CASAA and had lunch. My meal cost 39 pesos, plus 12 pesos for turon with langka. Then Jaykie took me to “Antasbucks”, this coffee stall inside Antas. (Jaykie wants to call it “Frappe House”. We call dibs on that name.)

Consider:

A frappe named Obama.

What in the world.

So of course Jaykie had to try it. (I ordered Black Forest.)

He said it was okay.

I spent several hours reading a book, perched on a step on the second floor of AS. Oh, my college life. At one point I took off my flip-flops. The floor was really cold, and a breeze was blowing through the corridor. Best thing ever.

I also noticed a poster announcing that DUP will re-stage Floy Quintos’s Shock Value (though this link says it’s a sequel?) and Isang Panaginip na Fili. I enjoyed those plays immensely. Will definitely watch again. (I also made Jaykie promise he’d come with, hehe.)

Then off to Makati to Whistlestop for the Polyhedral finale. Cute restaurant, found it without getting lost.

Food is good (just on the pricey side, but then they serve big dishes) and I dig the decor.

I see a typewriter, a coat/hat rack, and a lamppost in this picture:

Jaykie had to point out the centerpiece to me. Royal Tru-Orange! Clever!

Anyway, Guiz, Erwin, Patrick, and Jaykie are fighting each other for minis. My Girlfriend is a DM‘s Matthew Arcilla DMs.

And Jaykie emerged victorious! (LOL, Matthew I did not see that ending coming.)

* * *

Jaykie taught me a workout routine using weights that I could carry out on my own. He also lent me two two-pound weights. I would have taken the four-pound weights he offered, but I was afraid my bag straps would fail. Anyway, I tried the routine with him, and my abs hurt like hell. I enjoyed it. It was exactly the pain I needed.