December 2016 Adventure to Calatagan Stilts Beach Resort

It didn't take long for me to decide to join the my friends going to Calatagan, again, a treat from Ludy, an extension of her recent birthday celebration. I figured it was my last chance to go out-of-town this year and to practice yoga for the first time on the beach.

Off we went on a convoy with Beth T's family in a separate van -- her children and her daughter's children here on vacation from Vancouver. All the other girls in Ludy's. 

We gathered at the Shell station in Magallanes, everyone was revved up for the adventure. 

Arriving at close to lunch in Tagaytay, we had lunch at Leslie's...the preferred dishes were Bulalo and fried Tawilis. I sat with health conscious Tina M. and Elvira S.  -- three of us swore to no rice, replacing our carbo needs with veggies and corn from the Bulalo. So far, so good.

Calatagan Stilts was a charmer... we were billeted in two separate cottages, Beth and family were in "Dreams"; we were in "Inspiration". Right outside of our cottage was this quote from E.E. Cummings: 

“For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
It's always our self we find in the sea.”

The excerpt was a prompt in fact of what we expected in the next two days.

Soon as room arrangement was settled, the girls went for a round table discussion in the water, which was no higher than 3 feet. A minor casualty was Ludy who slipped while going down the ladder onto the water. 

We must have tried all the great dishes. My favorite, Squash Soup with Malunggay became the favorite of others, to my delight. The Lumpiang Hubad was very good too, an order was enough for 3-4 people.

All hell broke loose for breakfast. I mean, the Adobo was irresistable and could not be eaten without rice.The pancakes, according to Beth T were to die for. So there you go, my confession  that I had rice... not just plain rice, fried rice at that.

The last two hours in the pool must have jogged Marilen M's balance a bit. In the shower, she suffered a fall, had a lump on her head, thankfully, there was no bleeding. All the way from Calatagan till we got to Sta. Rosa to have her checked at Medical City, she had everyone worried.

Though she passed the six-way test for a fall, the doctors at Medical City urged her to have a more thorough medical assessment soonest.

The sea breeze and the sound of the waves had lulling effects on me. I slept for a straight 3 hours one afternoon and didn't get to join them to the Simbang Gabi Mass. When I awoke, it was as if I was still floating. 

The charm of Calatagan Stilts, the warmth of the company, the sharing of life's deepest secrets, rekindling of spirits -- in two nights and three days, was one adventurous swoop. Precious and memorable for the long haul. 

HONEY LIKE NO OTHER

We finally were able to get our act together in visiting Bob and Looey Maglaya's farm in Morong, Bataan. Originally planned to harvest from numerous trees, their papaya of different sizes and shapes on the farm.

Starting off from West Triangle in Quezon City at 8:00 o’clock in the morning, we got to Morong at almost noon. There was traffic  along the way, some accident that kept us in a bumper-to-bumper situation -- which fortunately didn't affect our mood as we were comfortably taken care of by Roree  in her Grandia, and her zero-accident record of a driver, James.

The Maglaya farm sits on a thousand sqm lot along the highway.  Its fence is strengthened by bamboo trees, my impression is that it’s going to be difficult for burglars or intruders to climb and jump over the fence.  In big cities, even in gated subdivisions, shards are planted on top of the fence as a safeguard.

Bob was all prepared when we got there, he and his helpers  cooked Chicken Tinola (of course with raw papaya fresh from a tree) and Fish Sarsiado.  My type of lunch, healthy and easy to do.  He then served us the roundest papaya I have ever seen in my entire life, and burgundy colored macopa.   

Couple of days back, he sold a cow for fifteen thousand pesos,  when it’s fully grown it will be slaughtered and its meat will find its way in the market.  Way to go, Bob!

For the rest of the day,  Roree was on a shopping binge for honey, cashew nuts, arrow root biscuits, pork cracklings and ice cream in the next towns. 

I bought only one bottle of raw honey to try.  Apparently, Roree already knew how flavorful honey from Morong is, she bought four!  And to this day, I regret I didn’t buy more.  The ones I get at the supermarket are no match.

“A taste of honey… much sweeter than wine” as the song has it.  NO OTHER.

Our way home was via San Fernando, and we did a last stop to have early dinner at a restaurant, by which time my stomach nearly full.  The drive back to Quezon City in the evening, all except James napped intermittently and I was on guard when Roree’s Grandia passed any humps or bumps, praying that I don’t regurgitate…

Morong is a municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines.  Its population is about 30,000 according to 2010 statistics.  It is home to the Subic Bay International Airport, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, and the former Philippine Refugee Processing Center.

Out where the Maglaya farm is, near the highway, a square meter  would cost  Php 3,000.  Any day soon will rise a Jollibee branch in less than a kilometer away from the farm.  Boon or bane depends on the lifestyle you chose to have.  Me, so long as there are bees and they’re busy producing honey I like.

JOSEPH AND THE TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT

                          JOSEPH AND THE TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT

Years ago, I took my children to this play.  One of several included in the season's ticket,  courtesy of San Miguel Corporation.  The story is lifted from the Bible's Book of Genesis, about Joseph and his "coat of many colors"

Well, we have a Joseph nearby.  He started out as a friend of my kiddo.  I heard from the guards  my kiddo and Joseph are  chummies.  They practice basketball at night, shooting in a dark area merely lit by street lights or  fleeting from cars passing.  


And you know how I knew they were friends?  A few months ago, my kiddo joined a rap competition held at the municipal gym.  Joseph, dressed not  in his usual tattered  clothes of shorts and t-shirt,  but "clean" and in slacks  --  was there as my kiddo's "pala" and  "hakot" audience.   

Joseph is homeless.  He and his brother and his brother's wife have been allowed to stay on the sides of the street, under a tree.  Sometimes, they venture into an enterprise of sorts -- -   selling candy and cigarettes, picking up from garbage what can be repaired and sold, sorting trash  for sale to junk yards. 

Not only do they sleep there, under the tree at night.  Joseph's brother and wife raise three children, the youngest  is months old perhaps 3 or 4.  I have seen the two older ones, blank look on their faces, scratching their heads,  very possible because  their stomachs are growling from hunger.  

Now it has become a habit to check on them, during the mornings that I'm able to jog or when I come home. And since two weeks ago, I've embarked on a feeding program for the 3 children. Can't say what, can't say I'm doing this as a favor.  Just that this is our Own Little Private Idaho.  

How do you like your Adobo?

TEAM BUILDING AT  CRYSTAL BEACH RESORT

Days into preparation of Team Jedi’s team building in Zambales, it was decided that Adobo was the best  comfort food to bring for a few reasons, i.e., it won’t spoil, it’s easy to prepare, it’s yummy and goes well with lots of rice.  It was agreed to make it spicy. 

With all our rest days in synch, we started off from Jollibee for breakfast, aimlessly calling and texting Mike B,  the all-around cook and man of a few reasons, for the chicken Adobo and some pasta.  I tried to contact him from my  mobile phone only to hear “this subscriber cannot be reached.”  That to me was a dead give away. 

In the van we were comfortably seated with our legs up on seats that weren’t taken.  Front row, there was Sam; second row our TL;  third row Baby Boy and Ethel;  fourth row Mac, Romulo and Pablo.  I took the last row and wished no one would sit near me but interchangeably, Pablo and Romulo moved over to sleep, curled up or whichever way gave them vantage position.  I was able to nap too on short distances.  Our driver was alert, adept and cool.  He and Sam really hit it off well, no malice intended.

Crystal Beach Resort is located at  La Paz, San Narciso in Zambales  on a sizeable beach front.  You could surf, skim board (what the hell is that?), swim, camp, bonfire, eat and sleep (if you wish). The day we chose for our team building was a full day, no more tents to rent, and rooms were quite expensive.  We sheepishly settled for a hut large enough for us to be under its roof and benches on the sides  long enough for our bags, paraphernalia and for us to sit, eat but not play.  We gunned for later in the afternoon to swim on the beach, and waited for the sun to set and stars to twinkle above our heads.  We forgot about the time, who cared anyway?  And oh yes,  we caught a falling star –and I can bet my bottom dollar Ethel made a wish on it.  I did too!!

By the time we were on a pitch black spot on the beach, we had ice galore, drinks (smuggled in), and many repressions laid down on the table.  Mine was I couldn’t drink because I was on antibiotics but then I shared that I had bought my own drink and wanted to bring it, until I remembered my medical issue.  Others shared their hair issues, their exes, their unrequited love interest, ad infinitum,  to I don’t know how many rounds of drinks.  Sam did a pretty good job at “tagayan.”

I don’t know what time that was when I did a French leave, waved goodnight and went into my tent.  Oh, I managed to wing a tent early evening with my raised eyebrows.  If they didn’t let me rent a tent, I would have camped at the reception, that was pretty obvious.  Sam and Ethel followed suit.  I tell you though,  sleeping was no easy task with high definition snoring from both sides,  the left and right of my tent. 

Going home was more placid, everyone asleep and eager to be back home.  We made a short stop at Subic  to get special items, for me it was Parmesan cheese and others, chocolates.  We chose to be dropped at different locations depending on our mode of ride back home. 

We have stories to tell, memories to keep, pictures to show off – most of all, one more lesson at team building.  Carry on, Team Jedi!!!!  

LIVING AND TUMBLING IN A CONDO

Starting to write this and playing Noelle Cassandra ‘s album,  DSL is down and I have just made a report to PLDT on their own DSL network issue.  This after I have done ALL possible trouble-shooting steps I learned as a technical support representative with Accenture Philippines Delivery Center.  Network has been down since close to midnight and is expected to be up again at 5 or 6 this morning, according to PLDT’s support representative.   I feel like I’m climbing on the wall.  Thus is a confession of a netizen, also known as an addict in jejemon language.  

Knowing how It is to handle calls from irate or almost irate customers, I was insistent to get a “ticket number”  otherwise known as “reference number.” I would rather call it the former,  coming from the inside operations of a huge BPO servicing in the US 14 mountain states including Colorado which was then the most problematic area. 

August came by quickly,  marked by typhoons and monsoons that caused many not to come to work.  Where I’m connected,  six in our cluster were affected by one typhoon and theirs were tagged as emergency leave.  Practically that whole week, schools, government and private offices were closed.  But I, the heroine that I am had to work against the tempting bed weather.   No such thing as a barefoot contessa, yeah? 

My fifth year ongoing here in the condo, I would like to share some realizations.  Everything in the Philippines works grindingly slow, terribly slow – look at the people’s unrest about this Napoles scam.  What more I, thirteen years and still fighting. I submit I am a patient woman, and virtuous in this aspect. 

Social media, ahh, without it where in this world would I find again classmates at UP Diliman, St. Theresa’s College, Manila, office mates at ad agencies, and colleagues in the government sector.  Where would I find a better place to do my  sleuthing and express sentiments.  Oh okay, then what about my physical state of affairs in the condo?

Submit that I TRY to keep my premises clean, no longer as starkingly clean as before.  Going on five years, there’s little space now left for walking, still I’m contemplating on bringing in a stationary bike. Really now?  That is because the gym’s treadmill is vintage and who knows who’ve held the handlebars on it? 

For the first time I hired a pest control a few months back to rid of tiny, tiny cockroaches.  To determine what treatment I would need, they asked if I had mice.  I said, no way!  “Eh, malinis nga kayo.”  Truthfully, I dread having mice I would probably not be able to sleep nights if I saw one.  Hat off to the guys at Julant, I have not seen a pesky one since they sprayed here, but that’s not to say they nearly killed me too.  Word of advice,  take the rest of the day off to some far away place, come back and open the windows after the spray.

There is something ethereal about being in a “central” place.  One tricycle or a cab ride away, or tumbling several times over, I’m where I want to be.  I will not go if it weren’t for the nice fish species to the small Puregold store nearby.  I will not go if it weren’t for the many stuff I can find that I can’t at the nearest Robinson’s Mall, to Pioneer Center.  I will not go to SM Megamall if it weren’t for the apple pie of Sugarhouse.  I will not go if it weren’t the best place I can slurp a good bowl of clam chowder to Tokyo Café at the near Go Hotel. 

Admittedly, this building is one of the earlier condominium structures in the area.  I remember I took my son a couple of times to a dentist who did scaling of his gums – sometime in the early 2000’s.  That dental office is no longer there.  To keep me within the bounds, I have found a dentist on the lower floor who now does all–around dental jobs for me.   I see her every 6 months for my prophylaxis, and any emergencies like a decaying tooth or gum infection.   Let’s get this straight, I’m not advertising her.  The fact is, she drives me crazy with her SMS of promos, I could have NTC block her one of these days.  And, where do I get a license to kill my broker, if not that, to wring her neck perhaps?

Condo Living, on my fourth

Today (as I write)  is the second day of what is called “ber” months and that to me holds fond memories at the same time, a threat!  I cannot begin to describe the traffic and the increase in crime rates in Metro Manila.  So people, I begin this report card, celebrating my third going onto fourth in this humble abode, eating humble pie.

• I saw two roaches or are they one and the same, but I know I swat the first one.  Now I’m wondering if I have been  their gracious host or they’re sneaking and crawling through deep, deep crevices of the building. Boy, the big ones aren’t able to run as fast as the tiny ones. 

• The lizard I saw recently is smaller that the first one I ever saw when I just moved in -- did he lose weight, regenerate into or reincarnate or go to Vicky Belo for liposuction?

• Now that work is back to normal, that is, morning to around five in the afternoon, does that mean I am no longer a zombie? 

• I finally met and chatted with the father of Nicole, that cute girl who raided my refrigerator, remember?  They’ve put a screen door so they can have more air ventilation in their unit.  And all I have  is a lost key for the front door…

• I am changing my shower curtain in a day or two, from pink to white with a little bit of design.  I love changes, it gives a person opportunities to look into far yonder of the horizon, where a pot of gold awaits depending on big “A” for effort.

• Since the supermarkets are now using less plastic, I have collected more than enough recyclable shopping bags than I actually need, which is absurd because I don’t ever remember WHEN these  supermarkets are prohibiting.  I can recall twice that I shopped in Megamall for my groceries (baggers won’t double the brown bags), when I alighted from the cab, out fell my stuff.  Not very funny!

• I find myself less and less able to write because I do Facebook? Serves me right for having many friends.  In the office, I can only do Facebook during lunch, and with a quick nap after I’m fresh raring to do stuff again.  Work is learning a new software every other month and yet I’m not an engineer nor am I a programmer.  Lost in the translation in this IT industry but enjoying tremendously. 

• Cooking is fun, now I have caraway seeds to try my hand in making sauerkraut.  It has to be fermented for a number of days, not cooked in vinegar duh!  My son is already salivating…

• I have in mind to move to a bigger space, a one- or two-bedroom unit on any lower floor.  My Chinese (not Koreans) neighbrs, occupying three units on the same floor had a terrible fight one night, banging doors and shouting!  Before I could get back to sleep I wanted to know if security has tackled the issue.  Were they fighting about the Scarborough Shoal too?

• I have learned some power saving ways, i.e., unplug the refrigerator either at night or when I’m off to work, either way it saved me another 400 pesos on my bill. 

• Skycable still has lousy service, you call their new number 381-0000 and listen to the litany of places that have signal problems.  That’s just for starters… then you get transferred to technical or billing and you wait again for another three minutes or so.  Oh but wait, you can email them and for each email, 4 pesos is donated to the Knowledge Channel. What this scheme is in reality a payback to you for waiting, it makes you feel good but no good.  You would have wanted to swack a customer service representative instead.

Have really had it….  This morning I asked my broker what it would take to move to another unit.  I’m aiming for a November transfer… up or down is no problem.  I need the space and I need it now.    

Condominium Living at its Best If you have the flair for it…

With the amiable assistance of Edna Jacob and her supervisor, I was presented a model unit for a three-bedroom condominium at the Flair, a DMCI project in the Mandaluyong-Shaw vicinity, very near other condominium projects that are sprouting in the area. To be exact, it’s on the corner of Reliance and Pines Streets.

I recall that such a unit has a price tag of Php5.4million for all of 76 sqm. including a balcony. Other units of course are priced differently depending on which floor and which wing. The current construction is for the first tower of two and the rest of FLAIR TOWERS community would consist of: swimming pools, pavilions, jogging trail, picnic groves, a basketball court, an observatory at the roof deck, and a children’s playground among others – urban living with resort-like comfort and amenities.

Still is my preferred developer, DMCI holds the patent for Lumiventt design technology from where the building draws light and air. In a previous blog, I described this to be the “sky patios” good for smoking lounges. Having been in the confines of a condominium building for over two years now, the ventilation I must say is an utmost necessity. I jog five times a week on the corridor and after ten rounds I feel not only claustrophobic but out of oxygen and clean air and that’s not to intend redundancy.

Given the scenario that there are other condominium projects in the vicinity and TV5 offices and studios are underway on the other block, I find that there may really be a demand for more open space. True enough, there will only be two towers in this DMCI-built community allowing for the open and managed space amenities. FLAIR TOWERS is by far the project among the DMCI portfolio that has the most open space in proportion.

Rethinking my options, still want to be on the ground where I can plant Rosal, Jasmine, Camia, and a small patch of vegetables and herbs. Where to find that is my next blog, wait and see…