Urban Fervor

The Abrera Family

2012-01-08T01:06:00.000-08:00

The gentleman on the rightmost of the right photo is Uncle Jaimito. He has a tweety bird tattoo on his chest. He recently helped us kick out some loud-mouthed property encroachers in Busuanga. The fourth lady seated is Aunt Lourdes. I had no idea that she looked that fierce in the 1960s.

The lady sitting solo on the left photo is Aunt Monina.

* * *

I find striking the photo evidence that show the the cultural collateral damage that took place in the late 60s, early 70s, when people, our families, decided no longer to dress in tailored dress and suits.

* * *

We were the hosts this year of the family reunion.

2011-12-15T05:13:00.000-08:00

Now I know what it's like to work for a company that nearly everybody in this city has a relationship with. You have no choice. You have to deal with us. But what the company is coming to realize is that it will not be like this for long. Soon enough, there will be choice. And our proposition will be: don't leave us.

* * *

I gave a presentation today. It was rough at times. I left from it feeling rather positive though. I thought it was just a shade funny that sometimes people could not understand my point. . .black humor.

* * *

When was the last time you were anticipating a particular date for a books release? (Maybe the last time was in July 2007). But am beginning to discover that Amazon manufactures anticipation, too, with it's e-books. It's rather amazing what they've done to people's reading habits. Mine are only transforming now. . .

* * *

I think people might be surprised at our capacity to still hike up our media consumption. We're increasingly becoming screen starers a society. . .

By Your Hand

2011-12-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

I can't get into my livejournal account.

* * *

I learned the meaning of a new word today: suyod. For those of you who don't know either, it's to go over something very closely, like going through something with a fine-toothed comb. That's been the nature of the work I've been working on the last 5 or so weeks. We've gone through decks and a refinement process. I have so much high quality scratch paper.

* * *

When we were kids, our idea of a fun time was a whole box of scratch paper. We were early on paper-lovers, and the dox matrix paper w/ the wholes on the side, seemed particularly luxurious. Now, most things are on the screen, but we began with paper. . .

* * *

My boss says, I'm sorry I hope you don't mind that I'm OC and very careful with communication. Not at all, I think. If we could all be as cautious.

* * *

Tomorrow is two things: Meralco Night Run at 5pm. And the 3rd Xmas quiz night people party at Jim's at around 8. I am really looking forward to tomorrow before working (gladly) on a Sunday, to finish something for Monday. My 5 weeks in Meralco has actually been pretty awesome.

Live Those Days Tonight

2011-10-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

Things sometimes move fast. I received a new job offer on the 7th, my 31st birthday, I officially tendered my resignation on the 13th. My final day in the office was last Friday, the 21st. On the 24th I officially start my new place of work.

Friday was also "FUNtastic Friday" at PwC, an early halloween celebration in the office. We had decorated the entire advisory area to look like Mario World. Mark played Mario which was ridiculously spot on. I think he got the most number of people wanting to pose for a photo.

The day ended with a scheduled Advisory dinner. It also turned into a sendoff of sorts for me. Big boss partner gave a speech, and so did one of the senior managers. There was talk of leaving a nest, and spreading wings. I appreciate those hopeful metaphors. But in my transition to my new place, I want to focus first on just doing a good job.

aging decisions

2011-09-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

I'm planning on buying some insurance. Someone came to me with a similar proposition 3 years ago, and I thought, um, I don't think I need it. Now, same person asks me -- do you want to buy insurance? And now, I think it might actually be a good idea. Back then it seemed like paying for security I didn't need. A good way to totally cramp very important cash flow. Today, with the marginal benefit of additional cash flow just a little smaller (the after effects of a higher salary), plus the realization that forced saving is a service worth paying capital costs for. . . suddenly it makes sense.

Please let not this decision age me. Buying insurance surely is not too far away from buying athritic medicine.

* * *

I went to a Nikki (sp?) Luna exhibit yesterday evening along with Grace. She had hanging resin artwork that looked like hardened bed sheets. I thought it was fine. I enjoyed more Gutsy Tuason's photos of mountains, rivers and ice though.

Happily bumped into Tanya who I had not been in touch with since the Cubao-X gimmick disaster. Would like to touch base with her again, especially as a friend is leaving for Berlin and I need new friends again. . .

which brings me to Bob's party the night before. Crowded and good night at 70-D. Did not get sloshed as much as before. Nice to see the usual crew. Vinny cried and I had to drive his car back to Makati with David in tow. Good to spend time talking to David, since we don't always get the chance. We've been friends for a while now.

* * *

Earlier in the Friday I was checking some e-mails I had received from 2004. Hilarious to read back on some grad school and mountaineering messages. Realized that it was time to form some kind of B2K4 facebook group, and also that all those econ readings I didn't have time for back then -- I can read them now. They don't date fast, which is good.

* * *

Have not been back to QC for several weeks, which isn't a terribly bad thing I guess. I'll have to figure out someone who is going to air out this tent though.

Chicago

2011-06-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

Just got back from this city a few hours ago. The family spent six days together in the city, primarily to attend my dad's receiving a public service award from the University of Chicago (good job, Pops), and secondarily to have a long overdue family vacation. Quite a lot of things happened so will see if I can even get most of the highlights down in this blog post.

I guess I can start in the middle, which was the awarding ceremony itself. The short of it is that thanks to a good friend of my dad's and fellow alum of the university, Tita Nita, a nomination for the award was put through, and voila it actually got through the committee. The ceremony was in the Rockefeller Chapel, and took a very civilized 75 minutes to complete. There were other interesting folk who received awards as well, complete with a 60 second thank yous and speech period a la Academy Awards. Those who made a bit of an impression on me were Janet Davison Rowley -- the matriach of genetics according to the NYT, 80 something woman who bikes around campus -- and Sidney Hyman, who was a speechwriter for Robert Kennedy. Hearing people exude intelligence is still a novelty for me, 'coz I live in a certain part of the world I think. Pops gave his speech also, which was pretty good, quite punchy and I won't give all the details but I thought it was good. If you must know who was there here's the link: http://bit.ly/eHFFql.

Incidentally, I should put out a special mention to young alumni service awardee Koren Phillips 'coz she went ballistic on the mucked up way the shuttle was operating during the day. She got all biatchy when I couldn't. Kasi naman may K siya.

In the course of this trip we couldn't but spend a lot of time in Hyde Park, the overly described as leafy neighborhood where the university is set, and factoidally where Barack Obama's house is. The neighborhood is naturally very academic; I just presume that well-off tenured professors live in all the old houses all over the place. Of all the places we visited on campus/Hyde Park, two most stuck out. One was the seminary coop bookstore, a massive warren of a bookstore in the basement of what seems like a church, and also lets you know which books are required reading for students in their various courses (a lot, poor things). The second was the apartment of the aforementioned Tita Nita and her husband Uncle Jim. It's a long apartment on the third floor of a building that has its community garden next to it. We spent good time here making breakfast/brunch early in the week, and then celebrating post-ceremony. The "adults" of the group actually went heavy on the wine during the celebratory dinner, including Tita Nita who was even more gregarious than usual. :)

* * *

If part of our trip was about the Southside of Chicago, about Hyde Park and the University, and all the academic folk surrounding us, a good part of trip was also right smack in the center of the city, and the architectural cluster bomb that made me want to learn more about architecture and at the same time re-watch the Dark Knight. The day our cab dropped us to our hotel's brilliant location on E Wacker Drive, we thought: this is GOTHAM. And with bizarrely good weather. So good that I found myself taking 530 am morning runs down Michigan avenue through Millennium Park and around Lake Michigan (um, did having jet lag have anything to do with it?). But really the architecture is pretty rocking, and I don't think a city has ever give me this much 'structural attitude'. On that note, one of the best places to buy souvenir stuff is the well curated Chicago Architecture Foundation store fronting the Art Institute. No bulls/bears/blackhawks jerseys. Ha.

We were in Chicago so we had to do the museums. Too overwhelming to talk about it, but here's the main thing: Art Institute of Chicago > > > Field Museum. The Field will still kick the butt of 99% of the other museums out there, but I was disappointed that they hadn't updated the geography data of their Africa exhibit since 1993. We were going to do the Shedd Aquarium, but we ran out of time and it wasn't too cheap either. I was talking to a cousin on the phone about how maybe I should make an attempt for the Shedd Aquarium because of the Philippine reef exhibit which I shouldn't miss. She said: that's okay, just go home and look at the real thing. Good advice.

Originally our plan was to do the some food tripping and eat at some places which had gotten a lot of attention like the Girl and the Goat but it was pretty impossible to get a reservation. So we settled for eating deep dish pizza, greek food (no more Cyma for us), italian, and the best ribs I've had in a long while. Each morning also I ended up eating fruit parfaits at the corner cafe a literal stone's throw from the hotel. Let's just say I'm going to have aggressively diet now that I'm home.

* * *

One trip highlight would have to be something that we would have missed if my sister hadn't bothered browsing through a TimeOut Chicago while we were lunching and coffeeing at the Art Institute. Manila Luzon show at Boystown. We watched this fabulous heather at Spin bar, got wasted with Mahar and Chicago-based college friend Vicky at Roscoe's, and ended the evening with the Manila Luzon meet and greet. I had all of 30 seconds to pose for a photo and tell Manila: we're from the Philippines and you have graciously and beautifully represented our country. Everyone at home loves you (this last bit from Mahar). Okay, we exaggerated a bit telling her all that but we really thought she was awesome.

* * *

This was the best family bonding trip we've had I think. But gonna end with saying that the times alone were actually pretty good, too. On my last full day, I just had the urge to get some art supplies. Ended up getting something at Utretch Art supply store on S Wabash Avenue. Ably assisted by a red-headed 20 something who helped me pick paintbrushes out. She asked me so what are you going to do / why are you painting something? I said, I just feel like it. She goes, yeah that's a good reason.

I took a few short rides around the Loop area on the pink and orange lines before heading back to the hotel to create a watercolor of the map of Chicago.

Ecopark weekend, Heima event

2011-05-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

Went out the whole weekend, and spent Sunday relaxing at home.

Friday. Met up w/ Jojo and Vincenzo @ 121 Adamson Center to eat and drink the same things we munch on normally at the Allegro branch. I have had a thing for their burgers lately. A couple of friends were next door having a more upscale meet and drink. I enjoyed talking to them over the low wall fronting their outdoor table.

That evening and for much of the next morning, was texting, scrambling for any type of outdoor trip that could be pulled off -- this as a result of my Pinatubo trip being called off because of weather uncertainty. I think people are still paranoid as well because some French pasaway tourists trekked up even if they were told not to, and some flash flood got them.

So my original trip buddies had to peel off since nothing was happening fast enough. Ended up unexpectedly with Namee and Justin -- people who typically are busy and/or asleep on the weekend. After lunch and with Driver Butch, we made our way to La Mesa Eco Park . A small wrong turn got us on the road towards the Payatas dumpsite. Lovely. In the end we found the park.

The park is full of beautiful large trees, and plants. Green everywhere. And now that I think of it, the park was quite clean and well maintained. There were a lot of people making use of the public pools. We could smell the sweat and chlorine. People were also having picnics, napping in the shade, and doing fun family things, like kiddie birthday parties. There was also a rather bizarre "romantic" photo shoot of an Amboy/Pinay in the Orchidarium. The sort of photos that probably wouldn't be out of place in a karaoke slideshow.

We got to see the famous view of that tower that is in the middle of the La Mesa reservoir. There was a chain-linked fence in front of the viewing space and signs saying that no camera/video is allowed. Later was told by a park policeman that this was because the dam is a "vital installation" and that we should be careful, what with Bin Laden being killed and retaliatory terrorist attacks expected. I did not expect this coming from a policeman.

The whole time was sunny and hot though so we couldn't stay long. We stuck around for just under 2 hours and headed to Maginhawa to recover. We chose to eat at Crazy Katsu -- a small Jap places that only serves 5 dishes. The Chicken Katsu was quite scrumptious. Nams and I tried to brainstorm our 5 item Thai restaurant menu.

In the evening met up with Bob and others at the Heima event in Reposo. It was pretty good. Outerhope played. Really liked the stuff Owel and Nice put out. I drank a lot of beer. Ended up back at Bob's place, drinking more, and "doing commercials".

Sunday was hangout day in the house. Got some cool pasalubong through Pops. Also discussed a bit the coordinating for the upcoming Chicago trip. Will probably write about that over the next few weeks.

Boat Behind

2011-05-02T07:07:00.001-07:00

I think I might have figured a simple enough pattern for writing so I will stick to it. The extra work from the previous night paid off today, I thought. I didn't have to cram for a deadline and I was able to focus on my primary tasks.

Just before lunch I passed by 2Go to get my passport back from the US embassy. I've been given a 10 year multiple entry visa which is pretty awesome. I met with Mahar and Vinny at Persia Grill and ate a lot of basmati rice. I was able to take some 1x1 photos nearby for use for our MTRCB IDs! Can't wait to put those to use.

After lunch, I spent some time doing background research for work, and printing stuff out for another visa I have to get. Went with Sir Gene to a 5pm-6pm brainstorming session. It was really more of a networking opportunity but I thought it was pretty interesting. Tossing out interesting stories is a not a bad way to juice up a brainstorm.

Got back at almost 7pm and had lunch with Dan, Beth and Jaja. Bacolod Inasal for us tonight. I thought I wasn't gonna eat rice what with the Basmati earlier, but screw that right.

Upon getting home did some reading on valuations in emerging markets on the recommendation of Dan. Ending the evening with listening to some more music which is actually a better aid for me to do work these days. No podcast recording tonight 'coz we're giving Vinny some more time to watch Thor (at least he enjoyed it!)

Bin Laden was reported kill today. We're going to be talking about that tomorrow night. Seth Myers didn't do too badly at the White House correspondent's dinner.

Times are a Changin -- I couldn't help it

2011-05-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

An important talk this Friday which has given me a bit more focus on what I would like to do at work. This is vital given the back to back week of work meh-ness. And not a moment to soon as I am part of another important raised profile project. These are all important for me.

I watched Thor with Mahar, Kage and last minute addition Maf. The movie was very entertaining and C. Hemsworth was cast perfectly. We repaired to Chilis -- without Chris -- after the movie to drink margaritas and eat (too much) nachos.

The next day met with Namee and Poch at the market. There is a new stall next to Nams's that sells good looking carrots and meat from grass-fed pasture roaming animals in Bukidnon. Marketman made mention of this in his blog. I ate some lunch with N&P and made a few plans for a Pinatubo trek on the 14th (you can come with me if you want).

Another dental appointment with Dr. Karl, and he didn't scrape too much my gumline this time. So now I'm on a flossing trip. I'm going to have to consult an oral surgeon soon though since I have an impacted molar that is going to have to go before it causes trouble to the adjacent teeth.

Then it was time to go to cousin Ludwig's party at SGT. It was a nice place and nice to see my cousins and uncles/aunts from that side. Had a great early talk with Lud, got to talk some business stuff with Uncle B, spoke with Auntie Myr, Vange, Yvette, Elizabeth, Uncle Freddie and also Grace and Hannah. And Jeff and Marian, of course and we got Princess to do her voice-over for us. And other relatives I forgot to mention.

Killed time at the flat before meeting with Vin and others at break party in a bar near the park. I almost didn't go coz I couldn't figure out what to wear. If you want me to definitely go to your event/party/show please help me dress for it.

It was a late rise and some great breakfast stuff that I ended up eating for lunch. Mahar dropped me in Makati. Did a few errands, went for a run. But not before passing by the office for about 2 hours to get a head start on Monday. Boss saw me working this late afternoon.

And now I'm just here, having decided initially to watch Pulp Fiction but deciding against it.

Found myself smiling at the off-beat way Arcade plays Brazil. It is a rare thing for music to make me smile. But I think it's coz I just don't pay attention most of the time. I should write and listen to music more often. It's good to hear that Glenn has decided to actively check-out and listen to what music is current.

benoit, jeremy et rene

2011-04-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

Consumed a ridiculous amount of media over the Holy Week break, but at least it wasn't matched with a equally ridiculous amount of food. Normally I steer entirely clear of any book that is even slightly religious, but I ended up getting through quite a bit of Harvey Cox's "When Jesus Came to Harvard". I had pretty much ignored this book in the past, but I believe that was a time when making moral decisions wasn't as important a concern for me. As a result of this reading, I don't think I'll be praying more or going to mass regularly, but at the very least I learned something about the Xtian-Jewish culture overlap. Some of the chapters that explain the role of Church in greater society I found wanting.

No further reading for me (I'm also excepting the audiobook of Bossypants, something I picked-up on the recommendation of Leloy). Thanks to Mari though I receive a French fix, namely in the form of Benoit Magimel in Les Petits Mouchoirs, and Le Petit Nicolas (a BD c/o Goscinny!) Also got to watch the final of the recently concluded University Challenge show -- I only had some vague idea that this long-time running UK show existed. Much better and more exciting than Jeopardy. Occasionally, Jeremy Paxman can get quite incredulous at the answers of the contestants.

Good Friday films were all courtesy of a selection by Mahar, most of which were "gay" films I had seen previously: Centerstage, Connie & Carla, To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.

I blew off the Cubao folk earlier tonight, coz I was afraid of drinking alcohol. So got a "blitz" text from Kathy.

On Wednesday night, had a private quiz night at Vinny's w/ him + Mari, Gica, Verge and Jacs.

not in blood, but in bond

2011-03-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

There was an earthquake this evening, and I couldn't help but imagine the ceiling falling in and me and my co-workers buried underneath rubble. We were dizzy for a few minutes after, but our fears quickly subsided when nothing awful happened.

I had dinner tonight with a friend I hadn't seen for a while. We talked about a few people and looked over our shoulders.

After being dropped home, I checked our podcast numbers and they looked pretty good. I tried pimping Toro Y Moi to a trio of friends coz I had talked too much about the "Friday" girl over the past couple of days. I talked about dogs with a friend online, and then I went to type this out.

Dad's Bday

2011-01-23T02:13:00.001-08:00

It's difficult to maintain more than one blog. Different audiences, sensibilities and purpose. I have started doing some writing and podcast recording for a blog called Urban Exchange. It's a different experience from the quiet that I experience here in Urban Fervor. For one thing, that blog is more heavily promoted. There are links on our Facebook walls. There are discussions about improving the site layout, and future topics of discussion for podcast. It is definitely fun and interesting. It doesn't lend itself though to much rambling or introspection. Perhaps just the short cut variety that is palatable to many others.

* * *

It was my dad's birthday this weekend. He is 67. I couldn't help think that it's a fortunate thing that he is still up and kicking, since this past several weeks, 3 people I know lost their fathers. They died from various ailments. The history that is such in our family is that our men don't suffer lingering illness. They just keel over.

For birthdays and celebration, I use the occasion as an excuse to try out a new recipe. I tried to make Waldorf Salad. It didn't taste as good as I expected it to be. I believe it is a function of the recipe, which made it not too interesting. I was able to practice making mayonnaise however.

* * *

fast start

2011-01-02T05:08:00.001-08:00

Holidays are about over, and this suits me just fine. I'm looking forward to heading in work tomorrow, and seeing what kind of surprises await me in my inbox.

They say a new year is a new start. Definitely. And in these intervening days, conversations and circumstance have conspired for me to start planning towards a new direction towards the middle of the year. As with some of these important decisions, there is uncertainty -- I don't know the possibilities, I don't know the full risks. The biggest risk of all however, seems to be remaining still. As move further into the year, the picture should clear up more and more.

* * *

From the 24th Dec to 2nd Jan, I was mostly in QC. Today I'm back in Makati. I've unloaded the largesse (?) of the holiday season into the apartment. A few new things to wear. Food items to sustain me. New books to read. My Bookshelf by the Door has new arrivals. They are stacked next to my notebook pile [ it is a little ridiculous, as I write things in notebooks that I will scarcely every look into again ].

I have some idea of the direction that I want to take this year. . .I figure that I will need to rest a lot, since in between, I plan to play hard.

* * *

My gift to myself this holiday season is a Mark Bittman cookbook. Hardly any photos but loaded with information. The most intriguing book I received is a well-illustrated and sufficiently nerdy, "Business Model Generation". The best trip during the break was finally visiting Everybody's Cafe in San Fernando. Thank you PJ and NJ.

The biggest surprise of the holiday season was talking to someone from six months ago. I really shouldn't second guess my instincts. . .

good things

2010-12-13T05:34:00.000-08:00

One can't really make people do awesome things. One can only create the right environment; and the people take care of the rest. . .

The managers and staff of our firm are subjected yearly to a mandatory team building event, where we are grouped into colors, have to think up a group name, have to make a group cheer, have to make a creative presentation, have to purchase an exchange gift, and are given all other kinds of delightful requirements.

I gave my group the name "Green Phlegms" but then had to change it (for the better) to "Green Minds" when the organizing committee weren't too happy with the original name. I thought that we were simply showing that we had a sense of humor.

The event was in a sprawling resort in Tagaytay. Though I thought that our team gelled together quite well, we came in dead last after all the points from the games were tallied. A couple of us were also quite pissed that some members of other teams were quite obnoxious about winning something like a sack race. I felt fully redeemed however when our Glee-inspired song and dance number won during 'show time' in the evenings socials. (Aside: who would have guessed that I had an officemate who'd give Myx VJ's a run for their money. . )

The most fun part of the night started however after the partners and some less fun folk had left for bed. Armed with a laptop containing dance music tracks and a karaoke machine, plus more than enough beer, we started a series of epic party games. We played a modified statue dance where someone would laugh at your face while one's frozen. We also did those line up games where we had to organize ourselves by the number of girlfriends or boyfriends we each had.

The best game however was musical chairs where the competitiveness was of a different level. I still remember a colleague's face planted on the seat of a chair as she literally dove her way towards winning the game's prize -- 100 pesos gift certificate for Starbucks.

The next morning, there was enough good will leftover that we explored the resort's obstacle course and grounds and took enough cheesy photos to fill an album.

* * *

Saturday afternoon was the wedding of a good friend, mountaineer and sporting buddy, JV, to Dennis, also a friend, but someone regarded as more on the fashionable and cultured side (not saying that JV is a lightweight but anyway). The ceremony and reception was in Wanakasa Farm, which sounds like some grass growing on a plot, but really is more like a Balinese inspired house with two wings, interior design enough for a good magazine, and an infinity pool at the back just next to a cliff.

The wedding had great food (and i'm not just saying this), the atmosphere was warm yet elegant, but most importantly, it was a real joy seeing JV and Dennis really enjoy each other as a newly married couple. JV kept on smiling and laughing and Dennis kept on giving people hugs.

Our table was a hoot thanks to Elmer, Raymond, Hazel, Lui, Nel, Suwann and Joseph.

* * *

The Benedicto Siblings had space in Cubao X for two afternoon-evenings to sell furniture, pillows, totes, and t-shirts that they had designed themselves. They also had art on notebooks, cards and paper; a selection of books and music; skateboards and pre-owned bicycles.

Mic showed me how to use the CD mixer so that I felt like a DJ . . .still wearing clothes from a wedding reception earlier in the day. Bob told me that he was thankful that he had moved into Cubao, and the artistic and creative community that he had thus gotten more exposure to. I stayed with them til they closed down for the early morning.

* * *

Sunday was the annual Abrera reunion. This year it was Auntie Willie who hosted in Alabang. The turn out wasn't so big this year, but it was good still meeting those who had turned up. The Palawan Gang (Nonoy + the Joses who had come along); the Melquiades side -- including Uncle Jess who just wouldn't shut up (in a good way). Great to meet cousins who were much older, and nephews and nieces who really should just be our cousins. Kel and I put up a forgettable song number (Israel something's version of Over the Rainbow).

The evening's highlight though, I thought, was the Trivia Night bit that Pinky had thought up and done for the whole family. Awesome. How many of you have trivia during your family reunions?!? Maybe it isn't so uncommon, but it was the first time it happened in ours, and it wasn't generated by me. :)

Before we went home, Pinky showed us the most heartwarming thing. A piece of paper had the trivia question written by her son Paco: who are the favorite Abrera family member's of Paco in tonight's reunion? Answer: Kel and Fabian.

Apparently, Kel had been told by Paco earlier in the night that we were his favorites.

Perfect way to end the weekend.

NU 107

2010-11-03T06:18:00.000-07:00

It seems like everybody this week is saying goodbye to NU 107. Now that news has spread that NU will be changing its format, moving from a ROCK radio station to whatever passes as commercially viable these days, people have started sharing on Twitter and FB their fondest memories of the station. . . of the memorable DJs, the Rock Awards, and of the Music.

Tina asked me earlier in the week something along the lines of, "Do you still listen to NU 107? I haven't done so in the last 10 years." It's a fair question, because even as many of us are nostalgic saying our goodbyes to what is a strong memory of our youth, most of us have already said goodbye to this station, to this era, for many years now. . .

* * *

So earlier today buzz built on twitter on how censorship be damned and the DJs were doing whatever they wanted, since the station was closing. I enjoyed my tweet being read on the air: that I'd be so pissed that I could not finish Jessica Z's (and Claire's?) show Twisted in the morning coz I had to be in class. Quark said such a memory dated me; I was proud to have been dated as being of that time.

* * *

And they did pull out all stops. Oh my god. I was in stitches and literally crying when Quark started playing on-air a friend's (long) phone recording of a security guard having phone sex. Said security guard was working in the call center of the friend . . . and there was even a deliberate interruption to ask if the Jollibee delivery had arrived. All smiles.

* * *

I can only imagine the other things I missed :)

2010-10-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

Namee's dad, Noel, passed away Thursday afternoon. This is sad news. My fondest memory of him is his periodic query on book I was currently reading. This was part of our conversation in Salcedo market, and there were many times that I would join Namee's family for lunch under the white tents in the park. I had always found him a very nice, mabait and cool person.

* * *

There are ends, and there are beginnings. I had spent a good chunk of Saturday evening in San Fernando, Pampanga where the wake for Tito Noel was. This Sunday afternoon however, I was garbed in safari attire (or what passed for it) for Michelle's son's 1st bday. This pavilion at Blue Leaf was all jungle (what a production I thought, but MJ assured me that this is NOTHING compared to what some of these kids' parents are springing for these days. Read: renting out the Makati Shang Ballroom). The hosts were kind of enough to provide a bar (!) for grown-ups so it wasn't only the kids who were having fun. I had a couple of drinks, and saw Joelle, Norman, Ina, Mike (Ina's husband), Erika, and all these kids. Ramon is the cutest of Ina's kids now, but then I think that's coz he's the baby and not yet one.

* * *

I'm preparing for Quiz Night on Tuesday @ 121 allegro. My first hosting gig, along w/ a friend Jason.

Sunday with another crazy family

2010-08-16T04:01:00.000-07:00

I spent a good chunk of Sunday with the Jojo L and Family. We started off at Rockwell Bazaar (disappointing), then did the usual rounds of going to a health food store (rice dream!), hardware (light bulbs!), and the grocery (apples!).

For drinks, we went to L'entrecote at Burgos Circle. I would like to return because they have adopted the concept of only serving one dish: steak and fries. This is something I last had in Geneva; and the restaurant owner kindly explained that the idea actually originated there in the 40s before it moved to Paris in the 60s.

The restaurant has to learn how to communicate this concept better though. Some eaters in our party were taken aback with the menu: that's it? where are the other plats?

I can imagine that from a inventory management point of view, steak and fries as the only main dish has its benefits. :)

We had dinner at the nearby restaurant, Just Thai. Nothing special.

We noticed that these new restaurants in Burgos Circle really need to up the ante on service. L'entrecote took more than 20 minutes to process a senior's discount. Orders in Just Thai took 45 minutes to arrive. And in BOTH, just outside their doorstep, were flies, bugs and mosquitoes. Jo quipped that it feels like we're eating in a construction site.

* * *

Watching J and his dad interact is always interesting. I didn't notice the bad service so much because I was talking to them the whole while. The conversation was the usual fare with this particular Tito: UAAP basketball, politics, investments. .

* * *

Today was the boss' birthday. My tummy is lined with cebu lechon, dinuguan, pancit, puto and turon. All eaten during merienda time. Dinner is off for me.

2010-08-14T18:56:00.001-07:00

I spent time again at the Farm, this time not eating so much toxic food. It appears that when people do some outdoors work, they won't to return inside and eat something necessarily ultra fatty. That being said, we had 3 chocolate champorado to go with our rice and meat dinner. Simple and good times right.

* * *

Vin passed by, and we shared a beer at Distillery Jupiter. There was a little space for me and Vin to stand and drink. The place is usually mobbed by people who are on their way, coming from Fiamma. Young, slightly clueless, but I tried not to be too judgmental. Heck, I'm 10 years older than all of them. Vin had Stella I had Hoe.

* * *

Decided to stay in Makati for the weekend; there's work to be done.

realization

2010-08-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

I realize that I have to write things, but I cannot express them all in the view of the public / semi-public eye.

The Farm

2010-08-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

After the euphoria of the Wed Night proposal, I couldn't merely stay inside on Thursday Night. I asked Kage to meet up perhaps for a drink. She asked me, if I would like to spend some time at "The Farm" instead.

* * *

Kage has been talking and tweeting about this place she visits regularly. Some people think that she's taking long rides to Tagaytay, but really, she's just going to a good friend's house in San Lorenzo. It's about a 5 minute walk from the edge of Greenbelt 2.

The backyard is huge. The once upon time pool now contains aruwana. The other animals who live here are a rescued turtle and a Jack Russel. This place grows micro-melons (!), cherry tomatoes, peppers, basil, and other herbs I forget about. The backyard has four bee hives, in boxes. This place harvests honey for goodness sake.

The main area of the house is an open area that serves as living/dining room kitchen cum play area, garden tools, gadgets, lego, books, blow torches. It's a bachelor pad of Iron Chef meets Mythbusters meets Clean House.

* * *

There's Detox, which is one way of describing of how I like to eat some days, and there is Retox, which describes how we ate that night. It takes effort to make some retoxificating food. It's not just about a bag of chips and a lot of alcohol. White bread + butter + processed cheese + processed ham + honey is good retox food. This is something you may want to feed a starving man. But imagine someone making a 'croute', baking in a turbo broiler the same ingredients I just described but making layers of it, then topping the whole pan with four fresh eggs. Ridiculous.

* * *

We talked a lot and laughed around the table that night. Now it makes me think that I will want to start entertaining at my place. That's part of the reason why today, I'm going to buy a table/chairs. We're going to need more places to sit.

Quiz Night Proposal

2010-08-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

I have to get in an entry on one of the most epic quiz nights ever, if not the most. Prior to last night, the biggest thing that ever happened to quiz, I would say, is the walk off battle between Maynard and Verge in 121 Allegro Pasong Tamo. This my friends has since been topped by the surprise marriage proposal by Phil to his girlfriend Mia at Capriciossa in Connecticut, Greenhills.

I was sitting next to Mia as Phil read out the quiz "question". People started cheering and clapping to the ultimate question of the night: Mia, will you marry me?

It was just so right. I felt privileged to had been there and seen it up close. This is how proposals are done. And the fact that it was shared to so many at one time, made it very special. The question now is: how is this going to be topped next Wednesday?!?

Congratulations to two amazing people: Phil and Mia.

* * *

Yesterday also was the birthday dinner of good friend "Diva". Oil-fest. Chicken Rice. Lechon. Jap Chae. Crepe cake with chantilly. Mango Torte. Diva's salad was the only thing that could even begin to neutralize things. :)

* * *

Augusts seem to be eventful in Manila. August-September 2009 was tragedy after tragedy. The stars perhaps are aligning different for our city this year.

* * *

Things seem to be going well with my new flatmate.

Strawberry Jam

2010-08-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

Just a quick morning entry, to preserve the moments in my mind, before the work week comes in full force. It was an eventful weekend that flew by.

After the Saturday morning cleanup, met with Mafster, Binx, Mahar, Mia and Kai for lunch in the market. We had dessert afterwards at La Cuisine and had the most delicious chocolate souffle I've ever had. Maf got all wistful that she was working so much, and could not spend more time this sort of thing, hanging out with friends.

Rested in the afternoon, before heading out to a pre-climb meeting at McDo near the Q.Ave MRT. Not my favorite Mcdo. And I seem to end up meeting there during raining nights. Probably will be climbing Mt. Nagsasa and heading to Nagsasa cove late August. It's with a new group of people, and they generally seem okay and nice. There will be a river crossing that potentially could happen before the crack of dawn based on the current IT. This could be a problem: dark and water. We'll see how this gets resolved.

From there proceeded to meet with Namee at Route 196 to watch the Mico Happy Bear Players. Diego Mapa (?) was doing some mixing (and I did like some of his material), followed by Twisted Halo (music from another era, thought not too far away), Ang Bandang Shirley (good), then Ciudad of course. They played 19+ songs. I was pooped though so could not stay longer than 5+ songs.

I was supposed to catch a morning run at McKinley hill, sponsored by our firm, but my dad got one of his middle of the night nosebleeds and I thought that I wouldn't be high-tailing it somewhere at 5am -- made the snap decision that I wasn't going anywhere for the time being; plus, it was the perfect excuse for me to sleep in some more after the relatively late night.

Lunch was a big piece of ham that Pops had bought in Santis. I really don't see why we would eat out. Let's just buy some good products from stores and prepare/cook it ourselves. We eat much better for much less.

Vinny texts during lunch that he is bored. Gica and I headed to Makati to: buy DVDs, buy a router, watch DVDs, play the piano, eat junk food, play Dog Monopoly, and have a few drinks. Somewhere in the middle David joins us and makes proceedings more fun.

Got to bed and snooozed.

The Winds That Blow

2010-08-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd put a photo today -- something calm. This was taken earlier this year in Concepcion. It's a river very near which passes around our farm.

Last night, I went with Sim to a not very calm party. Annual AMCI (mountaineering) acquaintance party. The theme was "service". Everyone was dressed as someone who would provide service: Starbucks barista, butcher, taho vendor, construction worker, delivery boy, masseur, mamasan. I went as a painter. The party was held, as usual, in Pedro's warehouse in Pasig. Special guest performers were Lady Gagita and Flush and the Toilets. Yes, sometimes I go to these types of parties.

One jamaican patty, pinch of lechon, two beers and two vodka sprites later, I was in an ok buzz. I met a number of the 2KX batch, and they were interesting. I'm not sure yet though about how they handle alcohol. For one thing, a few of their do-able guys ended up making out with some seriously mingen girls. I could only guess this was 'coz they were beyond smashed. I had a serious mis-read that night -- someone I had a 'vibe' from, ended up doing the MOMOL mid-conversation. . .okay, I guess some things cannot wait. Another thing, just before we left to head back to Makati, Sim and I witnessed a bit of a shouting confrontation just outside the warehouse. Drama.

* * *

Today it is clean-up day and moreso than the usual. New flatmate coming in this week, and everything has to be ready. I did mention that it was a Japanese guy right? There's a spot where the rice cooker will be placed.

We Built Our Own World

2010-08-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

It was a gathering of a core group of college friends. Jojo, J-an, Vincent, Aileen, Lala and me. We still hang out with each other after all this time. I think we will all know each other for a long time. We have to take care of ourselves so that we're there for each other for a while.

We ate at Mamou (poor service tonight) and then had some wine at D'Vine. We talked about different things, but mostly about people. On a selfish note, I am so glad that Lala's house in Fuego is almost done. We're already dying to go there and get smashed. I broached the idea of my birthday on the 9th and they agreed to go. . .

Our friends are very important. More important than many other things.

Army of Me

2010-08-02T04:50:00.000-07:00

I have a workmate whom I enjoy working with. It all began when we were grouped together in a work seminar, and she essentially took charge in the direction of our presentation. Recently, she's been helping our team develop a functional work plan. What a blessing it is that she's around. She provides value to our team, and I don't have to explain myself 17 times.

It is also slightly shocking because it means that until this point I have not gotten the peer support that perhaps I should be getting.

* * *

Today is Day 3 of me inadvertent vegan life. My last entry was about some revelations I had because I was starting to cook differently. Really who sautes in water. But there are a few more things I've discovered, which is a result of just eating different things, and being used to different tastes:

1. Tofu is creamy (I know, I know, DUH right)

2. Walnuts are sweet

3. You can eat just fruit for breakfast and not starve come 11am.

* * *

I was reading some blog entries from 7, SEVEN, years ago. Life then was more . . . glamorous (?), interesting (?). The difference perhaps is that today everyday I do is out of my own pocket. So maybe that is progress. My blogging / journal style has not changed significantly over all these years. . .

2010-08-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

1. Few things are grosser than over-steamed bok choy.

2. If you eat more bland food, you understand how flavorful a tomato actually is.

3. There are recipes out there that ask you saute vegetables in WATER (culture shock moment)

4. Apple juice is a horrible flavor enhancer in salad dressings.

Search for Tahini

2010-07-31T07:42:00.000-07:00

I've started strictly following an eating plan (Eat to Live). It is rather strict, very little fat -- and mostly all vegetables and fruits. I've had 4 meals of it so far. . .and I already feel different. I made hummus for the first time today as well.

Things can change with relatively little effort. Momentum changes. Streaks build, for better or worse. Just watch a UAAP basketball game. What we have to be interested in, is what causes streaks to end, what causes slides, and how they can be turned around so progress once more is sustained.

I believe what arrests slides is vigilance. Is someone/something spotting it right away, and nipping it in the bud -- a zero tolerance for allowing such things to happen. This is why accountability, responsibility and a team that takes no BS from its members are quite powerful.

* * *

Spent several hours today in the u92.3 fm studio this afternoon. Joined Kage, Mayn, and of course Sib in the show. It was pretty fun, and would be more so. . .if people actually interacted more with us. It felt like a total of 3 people were listening at any given time. (the number though based on the streaming access would have to be at least 25 ;P)

* * *

Ateneo beat NU today. :)

US Open starts on August 30.

White Cow

2010-07-20T04:01:00.000-07:00

I noticed that in some of my blog entries, I use the words, "I hope. . ." or "hopefully" so and so will happen. Some things we cannot predict, right? Some things we do not know if it will happen. Even things that we know should happen: a friend showing up, an exam passed. . .we know how the world works. I think that if I even deign to put it into words -- the world will conspire against it happening. So don't count your chickens. . .don't say what will be, coz things have a way of just not being.

* * *

On that happy note, I will share the events of today. I didn't go to work for the morning because of an emergency of having to bring my sister to the hospital for hyper-acidity. The MMDA cop stopped us on the way there, for a ridiculous traffic violation I will not get into. I merely got a verbal warning because my sister (deliberately?) cried in the front seat. That was my opening to say: sir, we have a medical emergency in our hands.

* * *

There's this milkshake place called White Cow in Southgate Mall and my Quiz Night friends are converging there in an hour so we can drink milkshake. It's a stone's throw away from our regular haunt -- 121 Allegro Bar. It's quiz night tonight.

* * *

In other things to be thankful for, my flat mate told me that if getting someone in by August is going to be a bitch, then he wouldn't mind flying out a little later. Paying for the August is not a big deal, much. Thank you thank you.

* * *

apartment

2010-07-19T06:59:00.000-07:00

My current flatmate is leaving for the US in August, and I have to find someone to replace him by then. I had two prospective replacements, but just today both of them fell out. Now I also face the unappealing prospect of having to leave this apartment and find something somewhere else.

A friend of mine actually suggests a four-share at a fairly large place in Pasong Tamo. Problem is. . .it's Pasong Tamo. NOT a terrible area, but I've grown fond of walking to work, and being able to go home at short notice. PT floods and walking from there to work would mean pollution.

I figure this will all sort itself out -- as I had managed to do some 15 months ago.

If I had the resources I would just take this place for myself.

Mag:Net High Street is closing

2010-05-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

That is what I read from a twitterverse.

I passed by last night, with Namee and Justin to catch what will be one of the last music nights in Mag:Net. I caught Angulo, Us-Evil, and Ciudad (Justin plays guitar).

Mag:net always seemed to be a busy place, and I had simply presumed that the place was making money. My suspicion is that their rent was raised.

Though this site was a venue to many fun evenings, good musical performances and bonding moments, I am not sad about the closing of Mag:net. It is not because I don't think it was a good place. It is because this is in line with the creative destruction that moves the 'gimmick economy' of Manila. This place will close, but I am sure that something else will come up. The people who go these places are linked more than a physical site of congregation. I fully expect a yet another new way for all of us to be together.

* * *

I never paid much attention to Ciudad's music till last night.

Breakups & Breakdowns

2010-02-14T00:37:00.000-08:00

On Valentine's Eve, I caught the evening performance of Breakups & Breakdowns, a comedy musical written by Joel Trinidad and music composed by Rony Fortich.

As this is a Filipino work, created by young artists, I was rather enthusiastic to see the production put up by Ateneo Blue Rep. I won't call this a review but rather a first take or impression since I need at least two viewings to make a defensible assessment.

The musical centers around the romantic relationships of two roommates: Mark, the playwright and Derek, the actor. Mark is played by Mark Baluyan; Derek by Gigo de Guzman; Nina, the love interest of Mark, is played by Mian Dimacali, and Sandy, Derek's love is played by Mav Gonzales.

I love these young actors, but the vocal performances didn't do it for me this evening. All four members of the cast had pitch problems, but especially the women. This was unfortunate because I think this obscured how good the songs are. They sang decently during pieces that required all four singing together, but on their "solos" there were some real issues.

I had some problems with the acting, as well. Mark's character is supposed to be a perfectionist. However, he comes across more as an idealist. I didn't see the obsessiveness, the need to correct other people, that I think the playwright was trying to show. In the many times that Derek tells his roommate to "shut up", it comes across as a forced script device, rather than a genuine doorstop to another one of Mark's pointed comments.

Sandy is supposed to be pretending to be something she isn't -- a player when in reality she really is a clingy person. I didn't see this tension of keeping up appearances, nor did I see any real change in character when she finally stops playing "the game" with Derek.

It's easy to point out the aspects of the show I found lacking. However, I did enjoy myself. I found myself laughing from the many witty bits in the dialogue. I've been rewarded watching small productions in Ateneo that are better than larger productions of the same musical staged in venues like RCBC. I would watch this production again, because I know they're capable of better.

short stories

2010-02-12T19:51:00.000-08:00

After weeks of postponing, I hosted a small gathering of work colleagues at home last night. Nine of them came to share in the spaghetti in meat sauce, chips, cookies, wine, beer, soda, and The Bar. They made good use of our billiards table -- unfortunately something I do not do as I have very little interest for this sport/activity.

We talked about our usual topics: work, politics, movies, music, people. The evening felt like an extended lunch hour, at night, but with a pool table and some alcohol. By 3 am everybody had cleared out; I'd like to think they all had a swell time.

* * *

I have a plan to study most of the day today. Hurdles would be: other things to read, the urge to nap, and an errand to pick up two liters of milk. Once I buckle down and actually open the textbook though, I expect that I will be sailing along. . .

It's Valentine's weekend, and I'm happily at home, reading tweets, and some short stories. I suspect the reason I never enjoyed short stories as much as novels, is due to the novels being more usually in a handsome format -- that is a hardbound document, or printed on good paper. Typically, I encounter short stories on: websites, PDF form, or a badly produced photocopy. We read with our eyes, but there is also a tactile dimension in the process of reading.

We started walking at Legarda

2010-02-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

I did a walking tour of Manila yesterday, on a Sunday. Not Celdran's. Not Man Dy's. This guy is rather new at it, and we're the guinea pigs.

1. The LRT 2 Line (Santolan-Recto). Therapeutic on a Sunday. Sometimes you need to see our city not very noisy.

2. San Sebastian Church. There are worse places to get married. I had forgotten the interior was kick-ass. It's probably the nicest in the whole Metro Manila.

3. Baluarte San Andres in Intramuros. The view of the city from there is great.

4. Believe me that there are views of the Pasig river that do not look bad at all.

5. Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) in Intramuros has a great facade.

That said, I would not go to most of these places on a weekday.

On a Sunday afternoon, take a train to Manila and go somewhere old. It's good for you.

6. We had drinks at Cafe Adriatico. The place is still okay. :)

* * * *

Oriental Park at Circle Inn near Quezon Avenue is now a branch of Le Ching. WTF. Sorry, I hate this fast food type resto. It offended me at Techno Park also. ByeBye OP. You must have been there for some 40+ years.

San Antonio Village

2010-01-16T00:36:00.000-08:00

Was at San Antonio Village last night for a party at The Alley, a complex of new apartment houses in a Makati neighborhood that in many respects should be called dodgy and a dump. So of course it was rather fun. The neighborhood grillery had delicious sinuglaw. Still had to tweet-bitch that it's ridiculous that I have to go to Vito Cruz from Pasong Tamo to access this part of town.

* * *

Escaped into Cubao X for drinks with David, LJ and Bert. The place is increasingly hit or miss. Well, it was hit, since we bumped into two nutjob ladies (I mean that in the nicest way), a chef and Apl.de.ap.

* * *

We spent the rest of the night driving around and LJ humiliating us in Burgos.

Fruit Cups

2010-01-12T07:47:00.000-08:00

Full day. Swim. Work. Workout. Trivia.

The mornings and evenings have been cold in Manila, but mid-day has become rather hot. I'm currently writing a profile report on an educational institution -- that's the space my brain has been occupying the past few days. I experienced being denied data I needed which I thought was very public data; it irked me for a while, then I forgot about it.

Fruit Alert! Life seems to get better. Our 9th Floor cafeteria has started selling: fruit cups! for PHP 25, 40 or 50, depending on the size, you get a fruit cup with chopped up pieces of fruit with: apple, pineapple, papaya, grape, melon, mango and watermelon. I opt to eat it without the sweet milk poured on top of it. Another way for me to get my fruit fix. . .now if only I could regularly scrounge up some Benguet berries.

I really pushed myself tonight, and I realize that I CAN push myself if I've eaten right and I've rest right. This is the reward of eating and sleeping: your body won't punish you too much if you DO want to go hard.

C is reading my book again, and I have to do some reading before I sleep.

We kicked a lot of ace tonight at Murphy's.

Run #2

2010-01-11T06:57:00.000-08:00

I thought that we would hit around 7 or 8 people tonight for our little running club. Our turn-out was 13, including a few managers and the Advisory partner. It was a very good turn-out, and I'm quite pleased that people are enthusiastic about the whole thing. My initial plan was for run #3 to take place this Thursday, but already they are demanding for something on Wednesday. Their wish is my command.

I think it helps that the paths in Ayala Triangle Park are quite pleasant, and there aren't too many people yet. We ran at 630pm, but I think that it would still be more pleasant if we returned to a 730pm start, or a morning start. Either way, we are well insulated from any car fumes when we run.

Eventually, we'll have to come up with some running programs and some running journals so that we can keep things interesting. If you have any ideas of how to make running more interesting (30-40 mins runs only), while keeping within one running venue, let me know.

* * *

I stayed in today with C, and decided to skip trivia night at some bar in Pioneer (I have not tried yet) . I think I might have made the right decision as TMI-J texted: This place is full of obnoxious ugly youth. Ha ha ha ha ha.

* * *

I enjoyed my boring groceries today: apple, bread, peanut butter, and juice

back from hiatus

2010-01-05T02:53:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow evening, I play running coach to a few people in the office who want to get some additional cardiovascular exercise during the week. I'll be taking them through a 30 minute walk/run-as-you'd-like exercise at the Ayala Triangle Park. This will be the first time myself to test Ayala Triangle to see how conducive it is to runners -- it should be a lot better than nearby Salcedo Park. Will let you all know just how good a running venue it turns out to be.

* * *

In other urban news, life is picking up again in the city after the usual long holiday break in Manila (also called December). There are outstanding projects to wrap up, reports to cram in, and people to appease. A new cycle has begun. Thankfully, to aid me in achieving all this, I have been issued a new laptop which runs at a much faster speed.

* * *

A whole bunch of new books issued this break, so I've got my work cut out for me.

Do you eat a lot at Starbucks?

2009-08-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

I ask the question because I eat at Starbucks more than the average person (or so I believe). I passed by the Insular branch and borrowed their in-store binder that contains nutritional information of every food they serve in the store.

I noted down the calorie counts of food I regularly eat / or was curious to know the calorie count of. I tend to eat their bread products, sandwiches and cookies and stay away from their cakes. So the list below is incomplete, but it might reveal some interesting nuggets for you to consider.

I thought it was a shocker at how many calories some of these "vegetarian" and "whole grain" products have relative to things which have dairy, sugar, etc.. Labels can be deceptive.

I should double check that indeed a wholewheat croissant has more calories than the ham and cheese croissant.

Item	Calories
Sausage Roll	706
Banoffee Pie	685
Jamaican Pie "vegetarian"	682
Chicken Mango Wrap	651
Chicken Parmesan on Turkish Pide	528
Chicken Ham Gruyere Sandwich	509
Country Vegetable Pie	495
Italian Pocket Pie	467
Turkey, Chicken Tuscan on Sundried Tomato Foccacia	453
Bacon Twist	423
Cinnamon Swirl	420
Espresso Brownie	392
Cinnamon Roll	376
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar	370
Egg Tomato Spinach Wrap	361
Wholewheat Croissant	354
Ensaymada	349
Cornbeef Pandesal	328
Banana and Chocochip Muffin with Splenda	324
Ham and Cheese Croissant	322
Chicken Empanada	316
Tuna pandesal	308
Chicken Pandesal	307
Quiche	304
Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookie	303
Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookie	279
Coffee Brownie	271
Honey Glazed Doughnut	257
Multigrain Bagel	246
Spring Vegetable and Ham Crepe	197
Strawberry and Peach Danish	166
Choco Walnut Brownie	156

Murphy's Pub Quiz Night

2009-08-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

It's not hard to find me on a Tuesday night. Murphy's Pub Quiz Night has become such a stable part of my week's routine, that friends know better than to schedule movies or dinner on Tuesday. Occasionally, work colleagues inquire on Wednesday mornings how our team did the night previous. The past few months Quiz Night has taken on a new texture, because regulars, such as our team, increasingly share space with younger teams.

For the most part, our team, a namesake of this blog, is comprised of a couple of late twenty-somethings and early to mid thirty-somethings. The "new blood" are early to mid twenty-somethings, and it's always fun to see these new faces. Our (obnoxious?) team has a new audience, and usually there will be at least a couple of familiar faces across the room. Soon we might have a real Cheers scenario on our hands.

* * *

I've started feeling useful again. The previous weeks I had be contributing very little by way of answers to the quiz questions. Last night, I was able to contribute more, and the teammates were as always appreciative.

There was a some fuss last night (and I admit I was a party to this ) over the attendance at quiz night of a certain wholesome basketball player from Ateneo. And sue me for almost gushing, but it did make the proceedings a little cooler.

* * *

A couple of weeks ago, two of our team members came up with the questions for the quiz. We received a particularly hilarious answer to a question about fashion.

Question: This Filipina fashion designer designed the wedding gown of Britney Spears. Clue: think pawnshops.

Answer: Tara Tambunting.

Edited to include the correct answer: Monique Lhullier.

Cubao Expo

2009-08-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

I spent most of Saturday at Cubao Expo, the wonderful quirky pocket of Cubao that I hope the 'popular kids' will never discover en masse.

I am not concerned about posting about it here, because those kids do not read my blog. I no longer hang-out at Distillery along Rizal Drive because the pop-kids have discovered it. My aversion to them is not in their fashion, their slenderness, or in the fact that most of their cultural horizons never extend beyond anything more than ten years old (Ok, I exaggerate). But I do not appreciate how they cannot hold on to their liquor. I am a self-aware judgmental person on this because, as an earlier post of mine has mentioned, we have the genetic disposition to drink a lot.

The main reason I was there was the invitation to check out Outerhope, who I haven't seen perform in ages. They played their set on the 2nd floor of one of the shops, in a rather newly-opened place called My Apartment. The novelty with this venue is that you can watch the band up close (all 10 of you) on the 2nd floor, or you can stand on the street and watch them from the open windows. The buzz I heard that evening was that the bands sound better outside. My appreciation of this type of venue is that since it is 'intimate' it allows the band members to start telling a couple of interesting stories. I enjoyed Mic's (pianist/vocalist of OH) story of how a cancelled gig at Mag:net high street gave birth to a 'Living Room' set in their apartment -- comprised of all the displaced bands that evening.

My plan was to leave once Outerhope was done, but I ended up sticking around to watch Ciudad, the next band on queue. The fun and friendly vibe stuck to me and I ended up spending several more hours with Mic and brother Mike.

* * *

Cubao is one of Manila's districts that are full of stories. As it is a major node of this city's transport network, everyone is going somewhere, and people still walk its streets at 4am. There are nooks that still contain the freaks, the very bad fashion, and the surprises.

La Regalade

2009-08-17T01:49:00.000-07:00

I finally ate at La Regalade on Friday night, after weeks of texts to Tanya promising to do so. Like many good plans, the visit was hatched on a slow Friday afternoon, and all it took was a short SMS to trusty JL to set up a 730 pm dinner.

JL managed to round up seven of us. Not forty-five seconds into my seat, Tanya approached. She recommended the duck burger, and I agreed that that was what I was going to eat for dinner.

The food was good, and the service was better. After dinner, four of us decided to have the chocolate tart. I decided on the tarte tatin. My dessert was good, but it was the tart that was, indeed, the correct choice. It remained at the back of my head for the remainder of the evening.

We went for drinks at La Cabane further down Pasay Road. I was glad that my friends liked the interior. The service was okay, and the drinks were unremarkable. I don't think I'll be back soon, but it is a pretty place, and has a lot of expats, if that's the sort of scene you're into. I thought how much nicer Martini's would be, but also noted that drinks would also be three times more expensive.

It was still too early to go home, and in Manila that means that it's time for . . . more drinks. We went to Grilla's for the sub-zero beer, and we ordered yummy ground pig parts aka Sisig. The music was total dance club type and too loud -- which was really appropriate. After a few more beers, we went home.

Sunday night

2009-06-21T08:48:00.001-07:00

Mahar and I spoke about how we should be more outspoken about what we want as customers. I agree with him. I think that there are tons of services out there where we are offered things that service offerers think are important to us, but actually are not. These are thoughts percolating in my head when someone tried to share me some membership in a hotel club type scheme. I know, sounds like one of those tiresome marketing things right? Well, I sat through a painful two hour discussion, but was patient coz the point was to get the free 3 days - 2 nights stay at one of their hotels. I got them and I'll probably even be able to use them.

Courtesy of our trivia night largesse, had Sunday roast tonight at Murphy's. The lamb was. . .substantial. I wish they just seasoned it better. The desserts were very good, especially the apple pie. Homey food at Murphy's along Esteban, very near the Rufino corner.

The weekend was un-eventful. But I think I am quite ready for the coming week which promises to be quite busy. I'm looking forward to it.

* * *

unfortunately this weekend also included seeing videos and images of people in Tehran having been beaten or even shot by their own security forces. a silent prayer for the people in Iran standing up for their freedom.

Saturday morning

2009-06-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Last post, I wrote that the upcoming week I had to write a report. Well, that's exactly what I did, and it occupied most of my time. I didn't go the gym at all, which is a semi-big deal to me. But when I manage to get good work done, I don't really care. I've been wanting to do a good job for a while now. So worked many hours on the report, and it has been going through a process of continuous refinement which gives me confidence that it will turn out well and polished. Getting the support of various members of the advisory group also helps very much. We're even getting someone to lay this one out for me. (Oh thank you, thank you really). One other thing I wanted to share was that I am confident about all the data in this one. All of it, even the controversial parts that people are going to perhaps bitch about when they see it. That makes me feel strongly about this. So what all this rambling's point was: yes, I spent a lot of time on this and I'm happy so far with the progress and output.

And as if the week wasn't a good enough one yet, I was staffed into a new project, that perhaps will take me to Cebu and Zamboanga later this year. That rocks.

I'm in a good mood.

The morning and afternoon is a scorcher and poor Namee was sweating a lot. She attributes this to her higher body tempature because of all that yoga. Perhaps that is the reason. I ate some food with Nams and her family; there was some Thai vegetarian salad (which might have had dog-hair in it, i know, yuck right). But I tried to forget about that. I ate some of the "nice french food", which market regulars know who we're talking about. It was just a tuna and vegetable sandwich but the bread was substantial and tasty. La Cuisine Francaise is opening a restaurant in Salcedo Village. It will be the space in Paseo Park View, just across Apartment 1-B. Sedeno Street now has those 2 and Terry's on it. Nice new attraction for the neighborhood. I hope it does well.

Finishing up some of Fellini-Satyricon before I go out to do some running. It's just too hot to go out now.

June weekend

2009-06-14T01:43:00.000-07:00

Malakas kami uminom sa pamilya. That's my conclusion, since I practically drank an entire bottle of wine for myself last night, during a friendly home mahjong game, and was none worse the wear. Mahar, Gica and I have been introducing the game to the debate society, including Chinese friends who seem to have a lost a little something of their cultural heritage for not knowing the game. My hypothesis is that their parents wanted to insulate them from the culture of throwing tiles and fighting with each other over lost games. In our case anyway, we play an 'old-ladies' game where we play for little or no money, and the fun is in the tactile handling of the tiles as the game is played. We played from 5pm to around 1030pm. Time flies when you play mahjong.

* * *

I'm reading this old book now, a Ruth Reichl book called 'Comfort Me With Apples'. I much prefer it to her later book 'Garlic and Sapphires'. In the latter book, she was already an established restaurant critic, and the writing was about her journey as a writer for the New York Times. This one focuses more on her life as it transition from her Berkeley counterculture life to that of a hopelessly bourgeois restaurant critic. I feel pangs of sadness in the first few pages (and it's raining outside too, that doesn't help) because I already can tell that she's going to be leaving her husband before this book is over.

* * *

I spoke to Cris today, part of my dad's other family, and was reminded that she was quite the runner in HS and College. She ran marathons and did excellent times. She called my 10K time slow (which I'm not too concerned about). But I will be sticking to my 3x a week training, and won't take her suggestions (just yet) of running almost everyday, and at minimum distances of 10K-- as training for my half marathon later this year. No thanks. But I'm glad that we talked about running anyway. It used to be her dream to run the Boston or NY marathon. I don't know if I'll get that far, but I'd like to eventually run a marathon out of the country. Like in Berlin or some far away place where the weather is cooler.

* * *

A new week is coming up, and I have to write a report.

Mrs. Pettigrew Lives a Day

2009-04-23T22:39:00.001-07:00

Last night, I extended a spur of the moment invitation to N to meet at Greenbelt. I was finishing an office-sponsored dinner at Chili’s and had no wish to head home just yet as I had a lot of corn and rice to digest. N lives across the street from one side of Greenbelt, so I wasn’t surprised that she responded quickly and agreed to meet.

We didn’t have an agenda, and we found ourselves walking. We wondered why some dessert places close early, and if we would spend 499 pesos per head for videoke, given that we only wanted to sing for an hour. We made a snap decision to watch a movie, and decided on the late-release Mrs. Pettigrew Lives A Day. We figured a Frances McDormand - Amy Adams movie would be entertaining.

Though I thought the movie was inaudible at times, and N had nodded off more than once, we both agreed that the movie was indeed entertaining. It’s probably simplistic to say so, but I will say that the movie seemed like a Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris marriage to Nanny McPhee. We are always charmed when the ugly teach the uppity how to behave like proper human beings.

The actors in this movie were caricatures of characters they are famous for portraying effortlessly. Frances McDormand is lonely and unloved. Amy Adams is either cute or tiresome, depending on the mood you’re in. Shirley Henderson, who plays the corrosive Edythe, knows how to curve her spine and gaze at the camera just so that I am torn between loving her perpetually unhappy look or laughing at her face. I think this was the intended effect anyway.

There are enough good lines in the movie, and I would have caught more if I had paid more attention. Here is one that affected me in the viewing:

Guinevere Pettigrew: “You people, with your green drinks and your parties and your subterfuges! You're all playing at love. One minute her, the next minute someone else, flit, flit, flit! We'll, I'm not playing. Love is not a game.” (courtesy IMDB.com)

* * *

We didn’t spend much time going over the movie after it was over. I walked N to her corner and I took the 3 minute cab ride home.

running wet

2009-04-19T07:20:00.001-07:00

There has been much status-message complaining about the heat enveloping the city. I would have joined in the chorus, if it hadn't been that so many people were already stating the obvious.

It was my luck that during my run tonight there was a good downpour. I found it slightly odd that runners took cover under a shed as the drops started to pick up in intensity. Wasn't the rain exactly the tonic we need against this muggy weather? Perhaps they knew something I didn't because 20 or so minutes after, I started getting itchy welts on my collar bone and back. I was taking a shower in rain water AND some additional tree things. T, who had been running with me, felt the same itchiness. Regardless of the itching or not though, we were happy that we were getting soaked.

* * *

UP Diliman has a scheme that allows multiple exit points for students and faculty, but forces everyone else to exit the place via University Avenue. I do not understand the reasons behind this, but if the goal is improved security or easing traffic congestion, I doubt this is going to help.

* * *

I finally finished Edmund White's the Flaneur. The flaneur or rambler/stroller of a city, isn't so much the topic of the book as rather a device used to organize White's account of the modern history of Paris. I enjoyed the book, and liked the fact that it was short (200 pages in fairly large print). I am starting to read a new book now, Saul's The Unconscious Civilization. It is similar to reading Nassim Taleb in that economics/finance is immediately being discredited (and with fair reason). The lectures from which the book is based on are almost 15 years old, but are still relevant and good reading.

* * *

Successful design solution at work?

* * *

More rain.

Fixing Up

2009-03-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

I have a new flat mate, and like my previous one, he's also into fixing up spaces, hanging things and bringing in plants. I looked at my sad little room and thought, dang.

I roped brother Mahar into the problem, and asked him for his advice. It was a very helpful conversation. My favorite part was when he quoted Martha: "Nothing says college dorm room more than exposed clothing." That made total sense to me and goaded me to act. And this is why the both of us trooped off into SM and bought a dark wooden cabinet. I can't wait for the SM folk to deliver and assemble the thing this Wednesday. If I'm in a good enough mood, I might even post a photo. Tonight I will also be sleeping on new sheets that are color of mango and pistachio ice cream. Ha ha.

Mahar has a bunch of friends in the theatre world who are into building sets and said that they would probably love to come paint my room a nice blue color. All I need to do is buy a large pizza and maybe a box of Krispy Kremes. Good deal.

* * *

Partially because I felt that it would jinx things, I did not blog here that R, my previous room-mate had left for a job in HK, and that I would be looking for a new flat mate. I have a new one now and things are going pretty okay. He likes to eat fruit, run, and is not psycho. Do you guys know how rare that is to find in this city?

* * *

So many people seem to be in this part of town these days. More on this in the future.

Stir Fry

2009-03-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Walking home, I thought, "Man, I'd really like some food. Where can I go buy something". I stopped and thought though: "Nothing particularly appealing or cheap. Maybe, I could cook something instead."

Here's an easy dish that took me around 30 mins to do. And that is because I am a slow cooker.

Gather the following ingredients
- a few bits of garlic
- half an onion
- around 250g(?) of broccoli (one of those smallish bunches from Rustans)
- small pack of oyster mushrooms
- black bean garlic sauce of LKK
- honey, as much as one of those packs you get for tea in Starbucks.
- olive oil

1. Chop the garlic, onion to smaller pieces. Make them the size you like, but I recommend smallish and dicey.
2. Chop the broccoli. Remove the parts on top that are starting to go discolored because of age.
3. Heat the pan with a bit of olive oil. Heating is only step 3 'coz I chop slow and don't want smoking oil when I'm not done chopping.
4. When pan is sufficiently hot, saute the garlic. Enjoy the smell of cooking
5. Saute the onion too. Keep on cooking til it turns transparent-ish.
6. Add the chopped broccoli. Be patient in cooking broccoli. Maybe 5 minutes or so for now.
7. Add the mushrooms
8. Add the black bean garlic sauce, approx 2 teaspoons. Don't add too much, as it has a strong flavor.
8. Add the honey, and even a (shh) bit of Soy sauce / Knorr Savor if you think it'll help.
9. Cook some more. Stir the veg even if this doesn't help but at least it seems like you're "cooking".
10. Taste your yummy stir fry.
11. Ready to eat. Pair with some good carbs, such as: good white rice / good red rice / good toasted whole grain bread. Do not pair with croissant.
12. Be proud and tell friends.

Feeds: Just Yourself.

Sunday morning in the north

2009-02-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

9:30 AM. The clocks tell me that life SHOULD be moving at this mid-morning half hour. As the pleasant morning habits are over -- newspaper, oatmeal breakfast, e-mail and shower -- I am compelled to get something started.

It is Sunday, so the standard as to what starting something is, is lax. In my case, I decide with glee that this means writing in a coffee shop and buying groceries. So here I am.

* * *

My favorite barista, T, isn't around. I will receive no banter on what book I happy to have tucked under my arm. Instead, I am met by two cheery faces inquring about how I'd like my mocha. A quick scan of the store and I see the usual coffee-shop characters: student, shoulders hunched and head bowed, high-lighting a photocopied reading, mp3 player in his ears; two baseball moms in their blue uniforms & white shoes, perfectly dressed and no grass stains in sight; 20-something guy with stubble, scribbling on a pad, in jeans, t-shirt & sandals, accompanied by appropriate liberal minded-book and backpack.

None of these coffee people will exchange words with each other this morning. What anchors them into this modern-day community space is the jazz music, soft recessed-ceiling lights and hanging lamps.

* * *

Having read the first few chapter of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, I examine all food labels for insiduous insertions of subsidized industrial corn: maltodextrin, fructose, corn syrup, xantham gum, MSG, cornstarch, etc. I determine that passing on Lee Kum Kee's Black Bean Garlic Sauce is too great a sacrifice for keeping my food-conscience clear. I figure that my food karma will balance out, since I'll be cooking tofu and mushrooms with it.

A lady offers me a free-taste of chicken nuggets as I walk through the frozen meats section. Should I make a scene and recoil in horror?

I buy many interesting vegetables, wrapped in a lot of plastic. All purchases can go into my backpack or over-priced canvas bags conveniently sold by the grocery store.

All virtue has a price.

* * *

Back at home and my two useful siblings are still asleep.

(to be continued)

Concerning Habits

2009-01-01T03:23:00.001-08:00

A bit of silence on the part of this blog over the past few days because I've been busy partying too much.

I considered posting about my whereabouts and activities, but I don't want this place to be too much of a repository of places to eat and places to get smashed. Suffice it to say that the year began right by crashing at home at 9am. Woke up in pretty good shape in the afternoon, but I also wonder if I should be thinking of a personal age-limit of this type of behavior.

* * *

The rains came to Manila this New Year, just as it did this Christmas, and the weather bureau reports that warm air prevented the fireworks smoke from dispersing and gave many of our streets a fog-like effect post-midnight today. So driving around was slightly more dangerous, but roads had a rare quiet eeriness.

* * *

Work starts on January 5 for most offices and I'm slightly dreading the absolute crunch of everything this Monday morning. Backed-up office e-mails, traffic, crowded gyms, and people still coming out of vacation mode. My advice to myself and to anybody out there: give yourself some breathing room and start early.

* * *

Many things on my mind today, but nothing further appropriate for the blog. I hope to get good entries in the coming days. Happy New Year Everybody.

civilized behavior

2008-12-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

I had drinks last night with a few friends at wine place Cav at the Serendra area, and thus had planned to post on their ridiculous counter-intuitive corkage fee (in short: one is charged a 300 corkage fee if you buy a sub-1000 peso wine from them and then drink it at their restaurant).

But the mood of outrage for something like that seems so petty now in light of the latest news of 2 sons of a government cabinet member, a mayor of lanao del sur, and presumably other assorted goons not-accounted for, beating up a 56 yr old businessman and his 14 yr old son in a golf course. First encountered details of the incident here. Bloggers have started writing about this incident, most prominently perhaps Manuel Quezon III. Predictably though, a story that would so inflame the public in maybe the first 48 hours, is doused by accounts that it was in fact the the other side who started it. (Edited to include another account that it was the other side who started it) And the ultimate dousing will come from what happens next -- investigations, slow grinding of bureaucratic processes, i.e. boring news.

In cases like these, the details of who started it, who was rude, who poked who with a friggin umbrella and started saying swear words are not as important as who in the end got beaten up, because assuming that one party started the whole mess it never justifies a beating.

If I were Bambee dela Paz I would take photos of the injuries of her family members and then post it on her blog. She should take a picture of her brother's ear that bled, and any other bruises, injuries, black eyes on her father and brother. That would help this story survive a bit longer in our media cycle that will soon move on to the next thing.

Update from 3 Jan 2009

Lots of details here, which come from a pinoy golfer website

As is natural when more details and information are released, the issue becomes less black and white and requires more distillation as to which facts matter in deciding who was at fault here. So this info messes up things a bit, including clarity behind Pangandaman asking bloggers to stop it already. If anything, I think bloggers are helping clarify the issue (though of course there are lots of rabid ad hominem attacks perhaps; take the good with the bad)

I have not fully incorporated everything myself the details from the forum, but my essential query still stands what kind of violence was inflicted on the De la Paz party. I will admit though that to be fair now, I have to also ask the question as to what kind of violence was inflicted on the Pangandaman party.

As the issue is more complex, it becomes harder for people to sort out. As an aid in the sorting out though, one needs to go back to first principles.

UPDATES:

Palace orders a probe of the incident

this is the default Palace action every time an incident that hits a nerve like this is reported in the media; it's a bit of a non-news to say the least.

Cops frustrated that neutral witnesses of the incident aren't forthcoming

The Antipolo police are frustrated. Neutral witnesses are hard to come by. The officers of the golf club don't want to talk, but they've already suspended the Secretary from the golf club reports Inquirer. The Inquirer report also says that a Pampanga fish-pond owner has been suspended. Is this supposed to be de la Paz?

Some rebuttal also from Delfin de la Paz (the 56 yr old) on the allegation of Secretary Pangandaman that de la Paz had started it.

Quoted from the Cops frustrated Inquirer article:

" 'As a father would I go into battle with my 18-year old daughter and my 14-year old son against five grown men? Would I, as a father, risk the safety of both my children, and the emotional trauma that this would cause them, as indeed was what had happened?' he said.

'Could my 14-year old son, my 18-year old daughter, and myself, a 56-year old man, beat up a 27-year old man with four or five grown men with him?' De La Paz said."

This is not the best sound bite to offer or quote to prove De La Paz's innocence in the matter; one could still start a fight, regardless if you're the "weaker" party. Punches were allegedly thrown, De La Paz was stepped on while on the ground, and he is quoted to say that he didn't feel that he was capable of driving himself to the hospital. The x-rays, medical reports, and photographic evidence of this would be far stronger statements.

Pet peeves with Inquirer reportage (from where I am getting most of my info on the incident) What is a "tee house brawl"?

DAR Chief apologizes for the golf brawl

The DAR Chief apologizes for the incident. He is sorry about what happened. He doesn't like what had happened. No mention in the article that it was the fault of his sons or of any other members of his golfing party. So far then, it seems like one of those fake apologies. They usually take the form of being sorry about the incident in general, but not admitting any fault. It's the admitting that certain people acted like neanderthals that provides everyone the needed catharsis.

And rightly, the De La Paz's did not accept

One will notice that the issue could get muddled as reportage of other issues with Pangandaman are brought up. I find the issue already losing steam and heat. Where are those photos.

The need for quieter spaces

2008-12-27T05:53:00.000-08:00

My main afternoon errand was to bring my sister to the airport. And as this is the sort of errand that could be potentially stressful -- what with the ugliness of the drive, and the traffic -- we decided to leave the house early and chill-out at a point not far from the c-5 route we were taking.

We ended up killing some time at the UCC Cafe at the Fort. Decent brewed coffee + cream + chestnut paste = 200 bucks, good grief. Oh well, it was the 26th and we were willing to spend a little. We just needed a place to write in our notebooks, annotate our books and flip through some magazines

This UCC branch was a favorite place of mine to hang-out about 3-4 years ago when the Fort was still relatively empty. UCC was in a stand-alone structure, tucked at the edge of the Fort w/ only one or two tall buildings near it, and not even a proper parking lot nearby. We could see the McDonalds from just outside the door. We knew back then that such space -- the open fields, the darkness, and yet the smooth roads -- were a temporary phenomenon. So my sitting there that afternoon was already a nostalgia trip: for what the Fort once was (open playground for in-line skaters, skateboarders, runners) to what it's now becoming.

You fill in the blank as to what the Fort is now becoming.

There are more than a few plusses from things have changed, in terms of proper establishments in the area (Theodore's, Barcino, Fully Booked, R.O.X, the slew of restaurants in Serendra), but these things would have located outside Fort if such a development wasn't there. What is rare is what I described above: space, darkness, seclusion. We still need those things.

finding chairs

2008-09-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Ria and I spent a good bit of Saturday running errands to get the apartment into better shape. An early morning visit from our landlady saw our dining table and chairs carted away by the building administration.

We had initially asked for them to be taken away, and though we said that we had changed our minds, it was too late as the furniture had been promised to one of the building officers. On the bright side, this was the perfect excuse to head to Evangelista Street and find some very cool 2nd hand replacements.

I wish I knew the names of the chair designs so I could identify the kinds of chairs we saw. We found some pretty good looking mod pieces, designs right out of the 60s & 70s, but a lot of the prices we found too expensive. We were especially taken aback that one lady was selling a set of four wood chairs for Php 2.5k each when 1k we thought as the more fair price. (Ria reported to me that she had later found the same type of brand new chairs at SM Makati for 1.8k. per chair).

We ended up buying a set of 4 entirely different looking chairs for 4k. They need some clean up, and perhaps even slip-covers. But like the other set we had found interesting, we thought we had found something well-designed. The elegant line created by the back of chair and the back legs made me think that these chairs would not look out of place in any fine-dining restaurant.

As soon as those chairs get some clean-up, I'll post up some photos.