where were you in april and may

*a late post in fact…

PH Election 2022 had just concluded a couple of days ago and surprisingly there’s no need to wait for days, weeks to know who won the electoral race. It’s a no brainer coming from the Comelec transparency server, from the Executive to Legislative branches of the government votes were easily calculated pronto, that fast considering that the Philippines has the slowest internet speed in the entire Southeast Asian region. Comelec must be really good and prepared this time hence the speedy results, I’d like to leave it there but how about the faulty VCMs, seniors and PWD unable to cast their votes and brownouts (2^nd district of Makati for example) and the long queue of voters at Bgy. Sta Cruz in Makati at 6:30pm. The long queue, I didn’t capture that story in any news because I personally saw it when we pass by Monday afternoon. I actually worried that some may not make it at the voting precinct.

I won’t deny that I felt really sad and disappointed at the turn around of the election because all the candidates I supported didn’t make the cut especially the Presidential post. I was rooting for Leni because I know in my heart she would bring balance, she would make a difference and through her platforms a better and improve quality of governance will begin. But all my high hopes together with the 14M people who voted for her died following the next morning. It was like a nightmare for the working class and I know many will agree with me. Six years under the Duterte admin was a joke, it’s because the President himself was so fond of making all issues a joke, a disgusting joke. And now that the presumptive President is another Marcos, I have mix emotions and fear. I fear that history will repeat itself. I fear that he may not carry the role. And I don’t know how the next six years will fare under his presidency.

Sana nga mali kami, sana tama kayo.

Bakit nga ba ang hirap mong mahalin, bayan kong sinilangan.

And to end my election rant here. I hope YouTube and TikTok university scholars are vigilant to spot fake news from the authentic content. I hope we do not rewrite history falsely.

Anyhow, back to my personal space. I was frequenting the city the last couple of weeks because I had my APE, office visits to clear my personal stuffs and DFA appointment. Finally, after a year I was able to secure slots for our passport renewals. You see, I was at the verge of phoning the Phil Consulate office in Vancouver already just to get help. And it’s a blessing that I chanced upon a tip from an ig celebrity whom I follow before I troubled the cousin. 😀

Long story short, I got the slots, we did go and we now have passports for the next 10 years. charaught lang yarn, we can’t afford Wolfgang yet 😛

Because going to the city is something bigtime for me now, I always look forward to trying new things apart from the gazillions of errands I have every visit. Sabi nga you only live once so make the best out of it. I realise that ze husband and I need to date out exclusively at least once a quarter because we need some time alone, we need to normalise like what we’ve used to ­—we need to continue our lives despite the leftovers of the pandemic.

So, before we went home we had dinner at one of the nice restaurants at the Newport Mall. Parmigiano Pizzeria Ristorante serves Italian cuisine. The restaurant itself was lovely, it passed all the ristorante philosophy ­—formal & refined menu, wine, deserts, in other news malakas maka-sosyal!

Burrata Salad

Spaghetti Polpo Al Marinara

6 Cheese White Pizza

We didn’t order everything of course because we’re over that stage na takaw tingin. First, we had the Burrata Salad, mixed greens and arugula with red apple, walnuts, cherry tomatoes and topped with whole burrata cheese with honey and balsamic syrup. At P420, serving was generous and fresh, two thumbs up for the very rich & milky burrata cheese. Ordered the Spaghetti Polpo Al Marinara because we don’t want meat to our pasta —cooked with octopus, spiced tomato sauce, zucchini, eggplant and bell peppers. At P520, you get a single order which is basically good for sharing especially if you are ordering other foods. The pasta serving tho had too much sauce making the noodles look lesser than it should, the octopus made the cut, it was tender and flavorful. Last but not the least, we got the 6 Cheese White Pizza —purely cheese based pizza, gorgonzola, mozzarella pecorino, parmigiano reggiano, scamorza & taleggio. Price was very reasonable at P595 and pizza was insanely good because cheese! ♥ I was actually itching to order paella or risotto but ze husband stopped me, save it to our next visit daw. I also like to order wine or beer next time. We didn’t get desserts because I want coffee after but we’re so completely full. We ended up checking some stores. I have this story from way, way back during our first visit at Resorts World. When we passed by MK store, I was awkwardly looking outside lang. I felt the store was so intimidating that’s why I missed my chance to get the “I love NY” tote bag. Un tote bag na made of high end katsa and sells P2,500 that time. Fast forward today, I love visiting high end shops at Rustan’s so I can feel the texture of the item and see how it is when carried then leave and look for legit online sellers who can give it at a better price, reasonable actually. It feels good, guilt-free to buy the real item(s) every time. Then persons at my household would always pop the question, saan mo gagamitin yarn? hehehe

Just so you know, I bought an XL MK office bag and laptop sleeve so I could fit everything nicely during my office visits. It took me a couple of weeks to decide because despite the better pricing I’ve mentioned earlier, the sum was still a hefty one and sometimes I still get that guilt feel pag tinitingnan ko sya but the guilt trip would easily get away naman. 

my forever date ♥ na poging pogi sa sarili nya when we had our pp appointment 😛

I still have a lot of kwentos, how we spent the Holy Week, that 4-day trip to Ilocos and Nanay’s 70^th. Too many to write about but so little time because you know, I have too many things to balance and I get so little time for self-breaks. For now, ciao and enjoy the weekend! ♥

DFA TOPS (confirmed appointments only)

3/F Newport Mall

www.passport.gov.ph

 

PARMIGIANO RISTORANTE PIZZERIA

2/F Newport Mall, Newport Blvd.,

Resorts World Manila, Pasay City, Metro Manila 1309

http://www.parmigianoph.com/

holidays 2021 (part 2) + january birthdays

Random holiday fotos: L-R: Christmas Eve at St. Gregory Parish Church, Kris Kringle at Bilbao Estate, rewarding our favorite J&T rider during the 12.12 budol, Salo-Salo during our E-family reunion, surprising SAM with my DIY charcuterie tray during her birthday, Christmas Eve at home prepping gifts, kids queueing for Papa Nopes money gift & welcoming ze husband’s 50 something birthday ♥

True that the Christmas spirit makes everyone kinder, happier and forgiving. Everyone is invested in sharing and being grateful and looking forward to happy times with family and friends. I don’t know with you but Christmas time is such a different story from the daily routine, and happiness, happiness is a state of mind. So, to each his own. Christmas time is my favorite time of the year.

Dec 31. Very different from the previous years because kitchen was busy with orders left and right. And, I was able to start cooking our Media Noche by 6pm already. I remember the past years were normally spent to an early run at the supermarket, there were even times we drive to Divisoria as early as 4am just to get good deals and fresh fruits, and fireworks too. A run to Nuvali for boxes of cakes. Basically, the routine is to finish all errands before lunch time. But this year, I baked mostly to cater orders for NYE. Not complaining tho but it’s a lesson learned, I should put a limit to it because I ended up too exhausted for the NY dinner. Pictures won’t lie. 😛

Our modest Media Noche wasn’t bad at all. We had baked (and grilled) pork belly, baked salmon, shrimps (halabos), baked macaroni, California maki (handmade by ati SAM), salads and sides, bread station, fruits, pastries and cake (from Swedish Café) and my DIY charcuterie board.

I can tell that it wasn’t the usual NYE spread because we’re used to overflowing food, overcrowded table 😛 as we welcome the new year.

pjs not from Shopee, Shein yarn 😀

We didn’t even have fireworks to lit because everyone at the household was busy with deliveries. Coincidentally, the neighbors do not set off fireworks too this year. Maybe there’s really a shortage of fireworks or people were just too pennywise this time. Anyhow, we were supposed to wear our Christmas pajamas last Christmas Day (for the family pictorial) but everyone looks flat and I rewarded myself sleep that time after a baking shift last Dec 24. So, to make the outfit count everyone made a quick outfit change.

And it’s the New Year, hello 2022! Almost two years now battling this pandemic and a lot has happened, there’s plenty of life lessons and there’s too many more to pick up and make better. I stop making new year’s resolution or something of its kind because it’s frustrates me if things didn’t go or happen as planned. I’d rather work with short-term plans now, those that are feasible and easy to pull off. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. Whether it’s work or play, I find fulfillment in finishing any given task right away. I worry about tomorrow in fact. It’s one of my biggest lesson before the first lockdown in March 2020. I find the company’s decision makers very lax that time, the urgency was not emphasized and the “we can’t do anything now” response was so lame, very lame as a matter of fact. And it’s sad that until now some lessons were not learned. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Sigh!

So, for me I want to do it now. 

“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” —Benjamin Franklin

Jan 01. First day of the year was spent eating and sleeping, then repeat. We didn’t go anywhere or did anything significant. Blame the cold weather for making me extremely lazy. But, I wish the cold temp last longer because it follows a happier state of mind.

and why do i look 20lbs heavier here 😛

Jan 02. It’s the annual gathering of my maternal family, the E-family Get-Together. For the second time, my cousin hosted the event at his farm house he named Bilbao Estate. It was a very entertaining day.

Almost everyone made it except those based overseas who didn’t make it home again this year. Food was potluck, there were games and dances, and booze. Truly, it was a fun-filled day which everyone enjoyed. Saving all these flashes to my memory box. See you all next year in Tierra Vista!

And then, we had our birthdays. Sam on the 10^th and ze husband on the 13^th. Since his birthday fell on a work day, his initially plan was to celebrate it at the work place with his colleagues but he chose to drive home, it was very unexpected but it was a happy case for me because it means I will welcome my birthday with ze husband at home. Yee!

Always a happy birthday, dadi. I ♥ you when I’m happy 😛

 

clips which ze husband sent me during his post birthday celebration at the work place.

For my birthday lunch, I didn’t cook any because I’m supposed to rest, I ordered some food for the family only because I wasn’t expecting anyone in the first place (but initially I really planned to order a whole lechon 😛 ). Ever since the surge of Omicron I discourage gathering and visitors again. Nag-iingat lang talaga because it’s hard to get sick. I ordered bilao of pansit (neighborhood), puto (neighborhood also), bibingka (Claire’s), bbq (Rolando’s) and asked Nanay to cook my favorite dinuguan (pork blood stew). We always have cow’s blood in stock because dinuguan is everyone’s favorite at home (except ng cook 😛 ). Nanay bought crispy pata also. Just before we ate lunch two delivery riders arrived. Both riders handed me a box of cake from Contis and some food trays. It’s from my staff and the other one my boss. Can’t thank all enough for the thoughtfulness, I feel so blessed and grateful. ♥

For my staff, I booked McDelivery straight right into their doorsteps because I want them to be part of my little celebration. 

I was really decided to spend my birthday silently, little did I know that some of my HS best friends were coming. So, while I impose the no visitor policy how can you say no and deny them when they came with pancit and cake. Vi and Alma came minus Mayora because she was isolating. I feel sad knowing that she was the one who even planned everything. 

Birthday was such a jolly one. I can’t wait to celebrate the 49^th 😛

Super thank you to everyone who sent their birthday wishes. ♥

Lord, thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for your constant providence and guidance. Thank you for blessing me a wonderful husband who makes life easier. Thank you for my family’s well-being. Thank you for my bois. Thank you for providing my needs more than I could ever have imagined. I know it’s not always easy but thank you for always letting me see things from a different perspective. Bless me, Oh Lord!

And for ze husband’s gift reveal. Well, this is it!

This was the item he lovingly wrapped because I was demanding a gift on Christmas Day 😛 but wait, 

He actually gave me a jet set travel wallet and a crossbody bag (na pang-harabas) even days before Christmas Day. I couldn’t ask for a better life. ♥

 

 

P.S. Random thoughts to wonder about:

For you, Imaginary conversations really equate to bitterness.

To myself, Living well is my best revenge. ♥