Archive for September 2017

It's the last day of the first "ber" month. And despite being bone tired dealing with and completing work-related requirements, I just thought of writing about a rundown of the things I dealt with this month:

I joined a meaningful endeavor for the benefit of our country's men in uniform currently deployed in Marawi. You can read more of that here.

I am among those individuals featured in this quarter's issue of a finance magazine, MoneySense about Millennials & Money.

And it feels giddily good being interviewed and discussing what I do for a living for the last five and a half years.

Speaking of magazines, I am making a "mini comeback" as a contributing writer for the upcoming issue of our company's internal publication. And I'm so excited. For any writer, getting to see your name in print is the best feeling in the world. That's their form of fulfillment.

This month is also a month for new discoveries. Like a new place to stop by for my morning fuel -- coffee! Finally, after months (which almost turned to a year) of waiting, the Tim Hortons branch which is just three minutes away from my office is finally open!

I also discovered a food tent that serves good food and drinks -- not in the metropolis but still in Rizal during one of my trips on the way home from work for the weekend. I might go back to explore more of the food the place can offer because some of the stalls were still prepping up when I arrived at around 6pm.

Of course, a month without indulging in brain food? Sadly, I missed this year's Manila International Book Fair. I read while this year was a bigger event, it was filled to the brim with attendees too. Call it an ultimate measure of katanderan but I wasn't sure if my patience can take the long lines of people this year. But that's not a reason for me not to find a book to read. After months of searching and ranting that I can't find this book authored by one of my friends, I was finally able to buy one from Book Sale in SM Megamall. Yep, humble secondhand bookshops are a gem too. Not only they are selling secondhand books (that look brand new) at a cheaper price, sometimes they're a place for hard-to-find titles too.

I'm ending my month with another movie to cross out on my list for my 12 Movies Project. I was torn between watching this in SM Megamall or just see it in my hometown but the former won. Last Night is the ninth movie on my list and it's a good movie worth paying for and watching. While it's seen as a romantic film, it's not tackling just a typical lovestory in its premise. While I did not get the kind of ending I expected, the movie offered an unexpected twist that somehow I was able to let go of the "ending I wanted but didn't get" . Piolo and Toni played their characters well -- or even above what the audience expected. And for someone like Bela Padilla, who everyone is familiar of an actress, this movie proved that she's more than that. Her scriptwriting skills for this movie showed promise. If you are intrigued and haven't seen the movie just yet, I suggest that you run to the cinema and buy a ticket. I am telling you, it's going to be worth your money.

There goes my September. I wonder how things will be like next month :-)

It has been four months since the battle of Marawi started. In between a busy workload in the office, attending meetings, watching the news and burying myself in those unread books at home, different humanitarian activities have been spearheaded. A number of which I have always wanted to participate in but there would always be obstacles -- either lack of allowable time or resource showing up.

I really wanted to do something meaningful -- but how?

The answer came through a blog post I found in one of the blogs I follow, Mommy Fleur. She wrote about this campaign of fellow mommy blogger, Tin of Manila Fashion Observer about sending letters to deployed soldiers in Marawi. To which I thought it to be a brilliant idea. In this day and age of instant communication, people seem to have forgotten the beauty found in putting "personal touch" to some of our daily activities -- writing letters included.

I don't know how to address the recipient so I did the greeting that way.

And so, yesterday, in spite of fighting off my disappointment over an appointment that never materialized, I took time to sit down and pen a letter. In a way it was hard to find the words at first especially with the fact that I won't know to whose hands my letter will fall. The only thing that is sure is that it will hopefully be received by someone in uniform, who is making a sacrifice of being miles away from loved ones to respond to a call of duty.

I never tried writing a correspondence to a stranger. In the process of doing so, I have to put myself into the shoes of the person who might get my letter. Sure, allowing my hands to do the work was hard, because as I was putting down my thoughts, my tears would fall at the same time. However, if there was one good thing about shedding those tears in the process of writing, it's that I got to clearly and sincerely find the right words.

As much as I would like to write the content of the letter and post it here, I opt not to do it. Just so it would be genuinely reserved for the soldier who will receive it. But it's mostly about uplifting someone's spirit and the hope of a peaceful end to this chaos, a hero's safe return and hopefully, if the Universe would allow, a chance to meet the recipient -- the courageous person in uniform whose sacrifice meant ensuring that people like me (and others too) would live in a secured, free and peaceful country.

To read more about how you can participate on this campaign, please visit this blog.

Just as the title stated, this one's another late post. I'm feeling and doing fine as of this writing compared to how I was in April when Kim and I went out to have an unplanned food trip at Hideout 52.

It was an afternoon in April 30 when Kim sent me a message asking when we could go out for a food trip. She was free (read: no scheduled events to attend). While I was just at home free to do anything that day, I was recovering from an episode of vertigo which started the day before. Two years ago, during my first vertigo episode, the doctor advised me that next to betahistine medication and some prescribed exercises, I was told to move whenever I could -- and yes, it included going out if my body permits it because next to dizziness, vertigo sufferers deal with balance issues at the same time. Thankfully, the medicines were working and my symptoms have subsided a bit. So upon getting a go signal from my mom, I went to see Kim for an impromptu food trip.

Kim ordered their murder burger and nachos while I had carbonara. Hideout 52 is an unassuming hang out place located along Manila East Road in Angono, Rizal few meters across from Iglesia ni Cristo. Their menu is interesting -- just as how delicious it is once it arrives on the table.

I loved how they prepared the carbonara. Warm and the noodles were cooked just right -- not tough nor rubber-y. Al dente it is. Nothing much to say with the sauce but I loved that there's mushrooms in it (I'm a sucker for mushrooms!) and they didn't scrimp on the amount or serving they placed in my order.

I didn't have the chance to taste Kim's murder burger. But I think it was good too because she was able to finish it -- despite that it's a huge burger and she's the only person to consume it. We also ordered their nachos (which we failed to photograph) which is also a must try. I'd like to think they make their own nachos because the way it was made and prepared is different from the store-bought ones.

These were the drinks we ordered. I forgot what Kim decided to get. While I had the strawberry smoothie.

This was how a vertigo-suffering customer looked like after finishing all the food we ordered. We stayed at the makeshift deck near the window. Overall, the experience we had there was okay. Save for the loud music, their food was good and affordable and their staff are accommodating too.Those are enough reasons for me to return there.

Hideou52 is located along Manila East Road Angono Rizal