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…

Condominium Living:
My Second Report Card


My daughter recently asked if I wanted to move to another unit in the same condominium building or put a down on a rent-to-own condominium of my choice. She initially suggested Taguig but I stuck to looking for one where I live or somewhere in Quezon City. Give or take:

• My studio is getting packed with stuff that I sometimes pull out from an apartment I maintain
in Antipolo or buy for reasons, topmost of which is practicality. I now get small rather than
family size packs of food, utensils, toiletries to name a few. Sachets work better, that way
I throw away smaller non-biodegradable, non-invasive to my trash can, packaging material.

• I am learning to make use of space in every way I can, and there’s less to clean, light furniture to move and less dirt to sweep, in fact my maid sometimes scoops it with her hands straight to the trash.

• Except for some smells I can’t stand, like the mix of beer and cigarettes, stench coming from the sewage (next door), I can get to the 12th floor blindfolded because the nose knows.

• Gaining friends including two little girls who would just love to raid my refrigerator for candies
and such, is wonderful except I don’t let them stay too long or they’d like to tinker with everything.

• My laundry is now well managed, such that I list my stuff and the laundry shop personnel ticks off the item to show they’ve inspected before putting them in the bag. Sometimes they iron my clothes, real cheap when my maid doesn’t feel like coming.

• Still have a problem getting a ride at 3:00 o’clock in the morning, unbelievable! Tricycle drivers
have made the building across ours their makeshift sleeping quarters. If you wake them, you would have to wipe their saliva off.

• I’m having a difficulty understanding Koreans, aren’t they supposed to be visitors and not act like they own the elevators?

• SkyCable is the only provider here but given a choice, I’d go for Destiny – it’s friendlier and less haughty and maybe if I call customer service they’d hand me to a supervisor. More on this in my other blogsite…

• The condo building is getting to look like an extension of where I work, there’s probably one on every floor or maybe hiding under my bed.

• I’d still walk a mile for Seven-Eleven, found a new kind of tea there instead of chamomile, it’s BioFitea, weight reducer, body toxins remover with Senna leaves and Pods.

All told, if I ever leave the studio it’ll be for a reason and that reason is mine. Capish?

THE CLIFF ROYALE

Water from Solar Energy, Anyone?

The first thing that will strike you as you walk up or drive to the reception area of THE CLIFF ROYALE is the rustic, feel-at-home ambience. Situated on a one-hectare, hilly beach property in Barangay Barretto, Olongapo, the resort is owned by 10 families that pooled their resources in the late 90s, to develop the resort. If you ask why the Barangay is named so, everyone is quick to point to Greta (we all know who she is and she's not a Garbo) descending from the Governor of Olongapo years ago.

From a germ of an idea, Toffie Vasquez, an acclaimed resort developer, turned the property into 3-star to 3.5-star (depending on one's viewpoint) clusters of rooms, clubhouses and picnic areas overlooking the beach. All told, there are 35 units in separate cottages that can be rented to vacationeers, or simply for an overnight stay.

Some 18 of us in a team headed by TL Abbey, hied off to Olongapo one sunny Thursday afternoon with nary a drizzle along the express ways. We didn't care about the forecast, confident we were going to have splendid weather at least when there. Little did we know Metro Manila was sullied by inclement weather well into the next day.

We alighted from the vans on top of a hill to be greeted by a stream of water by the foot of the resort’s reception area. Luis, Gammy, Hans and a couple others washed their hands in the running water, flowing down on a figurine frog. There was lush foliage adorning the stream and noticeably warm air by the stairs, which perplexed Jenny and Malou if that was an air conditoner’s exhaust.

Tired from work and from the 2 hours trip, we settled into our rooms, felt the mattresses (four to five in a room), and explored the kitchen, foremost. It had a refrigerator, a two-burner gas stove, kitchen utensils and dinnerware. We needn’t after all had to buy environment unfriendly plastic spoons and forks and those styro plates, but this writer found it neat that someone thought to wrap the plates with plastic for easy disposal.

Master planner Connie assigned us into groups to prepare dinner, breakfast and lunch. Since it was nearly dinner time, Mario and Joseph started the fire with charcoal for the inihaw na baboy. We got lechon manok on the way to THE CLIFF along the main road in Olongapo. Good thinking that Connie had earlier requested the resort’s staff to cook rice. Boy, it was fit for an army.

After dinner, the guys gravitated to the large gazebo, over videoke and drinks, the latter being chilled under packs of tube ice. Remember Ram? This time he was the bartender and no longer the chef and yikes, he rendered a song! Donna, Jen, Malou, Jacque, Dems and Gee took turns with the mike, and so did TL Abbey, all of whom crooned the night away. As for the guys, they compared tattoos… and rocked the music. Gelo quietly nursed some drinks while shooting his camera propped somewhere on his new tripod.

This author if you want to know, was in deep slumber till 11 o’clock, oh, was that at night? Lost track of the time, I woke up to muscle cramps on my left leg and thought maybe I should exercise my vocal chords as if at all that was some kind of remedy. Too late for me to hear Giovanni, but that he doesn’t eat pork was a revelation next day. To cap the night, Joseph, Gammy, Luis, Ram and I took a dip into the pool, myself to shake off what I ate for dinner.

For breakfast, we had the staples, such as garlic rice, spam (the real one), hotdogs, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and onions, hot choco and coffee, and tuyo (Filipino anchovies). Still on a diet, I had a cup of cereal out of my food contingency and a pear. Off we went to market to get stuff for lunch, with Jacque calling the shots what to buy, Malou picked a footlong talakitok, shrimps and more liempo.

Come lunch, Donna, Bing, Gelo and Gammy were in shades. As for Bing, it was a case of mosquito bites and for the rest, that is left to your own consternation.

A discovery wanting to be shared to readers, is that the water running through the faucets in all the units at THE CLIFF is solar powered. You can have water from warm to hot depending on your needs for bathing or washing, except for coffee, which you will have to run at least for 15 minutes to kilI the microbes. Imagine though how much savings on electricity solar energy provides for instance to THE CLIFF ROYALE. Imagine too if all the resorts along the same shore were of the same wave length. Bravo to THE CLIFF ROYALE if for that alone.


The author wishes to thank Mrs. Elisa Montecastro, one of the owners of THE CLIFF ROYALE who granted an interview. She oversees the resort for a hobby but her mainline is embroidery.

Eat, Pray, Love

A Movie Review with Focus on Bali

After much ado about seeing the movie Eat, Pray, Love, this time I braved seeing it alone despite the typhoon alert. It was difficult coordinating with friends that I decided the least path of resistance was to see it on my grocery day. A thought came to pass shortly before going to Megamall, that given a choice and the ever elusive opportunity, Bali would make a wonderful place for a honeymoon. Little that I knew most of the film was shot in Bali. I was hooked.

Based on her book of the same title, Elizabeth Gilbert played by Julia Roberts goes into a journey to find herself starting in Bali after breaking up a marriage which she wasn’t ready for. The movie has several flashbacks, one has to thread the pieces together – the husband (Stephen) is played by Billy Crudup who fights for Liz across the deposition table for their divorce. He represents himself at the deposition, arguing that he truly loves Liz, and is caught sobbing in the elevator after Liz puts her foot down.

Liz, who seeks a life balance after a failed relationship plunges for budding stage actor, a much younger man played by James Franco. Short lived and a doom to fail relationship, they fall apart and Liz goes to three destinations to journey into herself, and into food trips. She travels to Indonesia, Italy and India. In Italy she learns the language just enough to get by, sees the familiar ruins of the Colosseum among others. This is where I dozed off a bit and missed the annotations, as I conjured La Fontana de Trevi would have made a better fit in the movie, like tossing 3 coins in the fountain which I did a long time ago. That Liz (as the author) would have thought it better to pray than to wish was her creative treatment of the plot.

Ahhh, then in India she finds an Ashram and goes deep into prayer and meditation. She hears the sentiments of a young woman who obediently weds according to an arranged marriage. Amidst the festivities to celebrate the wedding, Liz recalls her own wedding reception where she and Stephen as the newly wed couple dance to “Celebration” (you know that hip hop song?) -- her groom with much more vitality than she.

A year into finding peace and tranquility by meditation, she returns to Bali where she meets a Brazilian divorcee (played by Javier Bardem) except the man has had a longer flight into single bliss than she has. Their minds meet, their souls merge, the man prepares dinner for her in one scene, what else can Liz ask for? She takes the man to Ketut, her favorite soothsayer, and the audience is left to surmise what comes after.

I like that the movie showed Liz biking through the streets of Bali and its suburbs. What I can’t reconcile is that Liz is supposedly a thirty plus year old character which Julia Roberts in this movie doesn’t seem to be appropriate for. Julia looks much older with her sunken cheeks and her unkempt straw blonde hair.

I like that the movie subliminally features alternative medicine such that when Liz suffered minor ailments like a cut on her leg caused by a fall from her bicycle, she turns to Wayan, a local “medicine woman.” She and her daughter Tutti live in a rundown place in the outskirts of Bali, treat Liz’s cut and plasters it with a leaf. In the Philippines, guava leaves would be the best to heal a cut or a wound. I like that Liz raises money to a tune of $18,000 for Wayan and Tutti to build a home.

As in most of the movie reviews I have done, I pick what impresses me most and it doesn’t have to be related to the plot. In Eat, Pray, Love, I noticed the light materials and the breezy, balmy ambiance of the homes where most scenes took place. I learned from Wikipedia, that Bali weather has marginal differences in temperature, meaning there could be heavy downpour of only about thirty minutes to an hour in any serious weather change. Meaning further, houses don’t have to be fortified with long span roofing materials and wood is the main component, it looks like. My Dad exported wood to Indonesia way back, I’m wondering if that was his major market.

Condominium Living: My First Report Card

Having lived in a condo for a little over a year, I am inclined to think living in one is NOT ALWAYS DEFINITELY for convenience. It could be liberating on the one end; it could be short of wanting on the other.

* One big typhoon last year and I slept through for about 4 hours without electricity.
* Long weekends are a bore, not even the beauty parlor is open.
* One laundry in the basement lost my polo shirt which happened to be a favorite one. The owner of the laundry shop paid me in installments.
* Christmas get togethers with family and friends were mostly at restaurants rather than in the condo.
* Two times in the pool to catch the sun during the summer weren’t enough to give me a tan.
* Damaged bathroom fittings could be expensive to replace if the condo personnel were to do it. I was presented a five hundred peso statement for a less than ten minute job, labor only. What irked me the most was his audacity of wearing rubber shoes in the bathroom.
* Brisk walking to Church early Sunday morning can be cool so long as I’m careful not to be hit by vehicles.
* After office cocktails, meriendas or lunches are limited to up to six invitees. I have learned to stock up on styropor plates and cups; and plastic spoons and forks.
* Some friends from work sleep over; and some want to sleep over even uninvited. My bed is single and so am I. Bring your own mattress is the house rule.
* Some fourteen plastic grocery bags once filled a portion of the kitchen, ready for the next day’s out-of-town.
* One rainy evening took forty-five minutes to get to the office in a cab. I can walk it in ten minutes.
* A respiratory tract infection bolted me from work to the hospital where I stayed two days. The rest was not enough and the after effect of the hospital stay was a lurking glaucoma.
* I have collected almost 600 family and friends in Facebook and others in another network. They’re a motley of virtual friends, to cite a few: three doctors; two lawyers; four IT professionals; two bankers; and many businessmen asking for my email addy or YM.
* The newly opened Mini-Stop downstairs is a pretend liquor store, I can’t get anything healthy either and would rather walk to 7-11 a stone’s throw away.
* Pest control must be well managed by the building administration or that I maintained cleanliness to a squeak? I have never seen a mouse or they don’t get up to the 12th floor? Roaches are tiny, compared to the neighbor’s; and there’s one or two lizards that try to frighten me.
* People that have been here say the place is “cute” and yes, it is and that's the way I like it.
* One friend asked before coming in if she had to leave her shoes outside and she was serious!

Today after I went to Church, I wanted to get some plants for the condo and just like I can’t figure out where to put a small TV, I thought I should forget about having another living and breathing creature around here. There may be a lot that I’m missing, especially my children, and there may be cutting corners here and there, but here’s one place where you can never say “leave me alone” and mean it.

TEAMWORK AT ITS BEST

Two months in the making, our team outing finally pushed through mid-February this year. After running through a selection of resorts that would be suitable for the available resources we had, our Team Lead Donnah Mae decided Cabangan, Zambales was it. The beach is privately owned by an architect friend of a team mate and it turned out to be the perfect place for a team-building overnight stay, to get away from it all.

While we could not have possibly been complete as a team, majority of us joined and then again, majority of us were females. From Mandaluyong, we took a Revo in the early afternoon, driven by team mate Amie who had volunteered to harness her driving prowess to safely get the team to Zambales. I sat next to her as her co-pilot, or as an extra pair of eyes when she wanted to overtake (dear Lord!) on the right lane. We were to meet up with Ram in Floridablanca, Pampanga who had left Mandaluyong earlier and took Rolly and Nino to ride with him.

I gathered Amie had driven to Zambales before, perhaps several times, gauging that she neither had a sketch, nor a map, nor directions on how to get there. I could have driven to Subic but would have gotten lost beyond it. We took a quick stop in Subic to freshen up and blow air into the tires. In there, we had to obey traffic and safety rules, believe it or not. Subic has remnants of the old American base and driving and riding on the front seat without seatbelts is against the rules. Ram was apprehended because his wife had drawn down the window for fresh air and the traffic enforcer was quick to see she didn’t have her seatbelt on. Tailing them, Amie, Raych and I pulled the seatbelts down and pretended they were securely fastened. We got though a stern warning that only two could ride in front, oh yeah!

Arriving in Zambales around seven in the evening, tired and hungry, we found the place way inside by the beach. We couldn’t tell what was in store for us on our overnight rendezvous, but team spirit was in the works and Ram, Rolly, TL Donnah Mae and the two other guys took their turn in preparing supper. We had beef with oyster sauce and barbecue. The stuffed bangus was partially grilled for next day’s lunch. It was unfortunate but rather amusing, that a dog feasted on one of the bangus in toto and left the foil as a trail of evidence. Must have been yummy as we did all agree next day.

From the huge nipa hut, we could see the sky and tell you, it was a beautiful night when the stars shone brightly (of course) but not sufficient to see the beach front. The girl scout in me volunteered a flashlight for use to walk around. My flashlight? It was new and was sent by my daughter with a dedication that wittingly read, “so you’ll never be in the dark.”

To prepare for breakfast, Chriska cooked rice just before she dozed off, nagging us to wake her at sunrise. We surmised that she had one too many drinks and was tired from all the antics she was made to do to keep the team spirit alive. That was close to four in the morning after we had drinks by the beach around the bonfire adeptly created by the boys using, errrrrr, firewood that looked more like posts from the nipa hut. Rolly was the master scout and he even knew how to go under the tent to keep him warm in his sleep, like a frog? More like a crab that crept under the sand. Andy was the pin-up boy among the guys who would rather have photos taken of himself than being the paparazzi in the group.

Breakfast was a courtesy from Amie with Ruth as her understudy. Before breakfast, we explored the place, found a small pond outside the property with cows and goats grazing the grass. On the beach, we saw some fresh catch of fishes and if it weren’t that we didn’t have enough ice, I would have settled for talakitok. The beach was glorious in the morning upon our discovery -- close to white sand, clean, and the waves enticing. The guys moved the tents to the beach front, a very smart idea, and we took a dip or dips as you may, in the Zambales waters. I rolled to and fro on the sand, trying to get a decent swim but the waves were just too powerful. I can’t imagine what it would have done to Ruth or Amie being that they’re both light weight, white belt champions.

Lunch was my turn to cook and with LPG gone, Rolly helped set the charcoal to boil some okra, cook rice and fry the tocino. The main attraction was Ram’s barbecued ribs which recipe he refused to divulge. Joan’s stuffed bangus which she prepared with citron leaves for flavor, chopped tomatoes and onions was a revelation but should in fact be a tip of the iceberg because Joan graduated an HRM course. Still full, we managed to take turns in the bath, who knows how much sand we left in the sewerage. With Amie on the wheel, we set off our trip back to Mandaluyong at about three in the afternoon. This time with no air conditioning because the Revo couldn’t take the heat from Amie’s hell driving. We had several stops to get ice cream, snacks at convenience stores, gasoline and air for the Revo and to check on our stats, thanks for Nino’s notebook that luckily didn’t fluctuate.

With fun as secondary motivation, the team got to know each other better -- that each one’s quirks are in tolerable levels; cooking skills are a must if one is to keep happy and satisfied; and seriously, that games adult people play are in fact a big joke.

Zambales to speak of, has a lot of potentials. I looked around and the visionary in me found this place we went to can be turned into a bread and breakfast, boutique hotel of sorts. A few days after our team outing, I read in a leading broadsheet there is a huge investment pouring to develop Zambales into a tourist spot.

THE REBOUND (no real estate value)

May I begin by saying that I’m not on a rebound, not now, and besides if I ever get a nanny, it’ll be for my grandchildren and I won’t get someone as cute as Aram. Played by Justin Bartha in the movie “The Rebound,” Aram is Jewish and a college graduate who works in a coffee shop when he meets Sandy, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.

I happened to see the movie last week while waiting for a PT doctor at Clinica Manila in Megamall. Although I remember having invited a classmate who said she could relate to the concept of cougar relationship, my choice to see this movie was well decided against “Avatar.”

Sandy moves to New York with two kids in tow, fresh out of a divorce, still reeling from visions of her ex-husband’s indiscretions, apparently, one too many. Slowly she puts her life back in order, finds Aram to baby sit her daughter and son, which works rather well till things got mushy in quite a comical way. Sandy’s son catches her and Aram doing it on the couch and that kicks off Aram’s sleeping over on a more regular basis.

What struck me in this movie, is not the plot, not even the characters. I couldn’t get my mind off Catherine’s physique -- her well defined muscles on the right spots, running to her back. In reel (at least in this movie) and real life, Catherine does the gym, she can’t do otherwise not with those muscles. She gets invited to join yoga and yeah, I can do that too, watch the movie if you want to know what I mean!

Aram and Sandy become a pair both at home and in their respective family circles. She gets pregnant and as they choose a name for the baby, Aram mentions “Iora,” a Jewish name for a girl. By golly, this movie was meant for me… a few days before I saw the movie, I got a nice evening dress from a boutique at Megamall called “Iora.”

I guess this is the climax of the movie, Sandy gets pregnant… ooops, sorry to disappoint you. She loses the baby, breaks off with Aram, climbs the corporate ladder to become the anchor in a TV news program while Aram travels the world doing what best he loves -- being with children. Five years fast forward, Sandy’s daughter graduates from school --- she looks different and if I may add, ugly --- and they by chance all meet at a restaurant. Aram now has a son and his mother, a doting granny, join Sandy and her children celebrate graduation. Their flame still aglow, Sandy and Aram hold hands under the table. Now you make up your mind at this point.

Cougar relationship in not so definite terms is a relationship between a much older woman with a very young man. Doesn’t say how many years, just that. Someone wrote about it in her column, first time I learned about it. My lawyer-friend added, it’s the woman who does the chasing. I beg your pardon!!!

Weathering Ondoy

A month and a half ago, I succumbed to the pressure of my children to set me up in a condo near my office. Let me tell you what a great relief it is to wake up two hours before shift to prepare my packed “lunch,” workout a bit, shower and get dressed. After shift, I walk home leisurely and have about four hours for household chores and to catch up either on reading or email or both, before I hit the sack.

My sons and daughters were right about moving to a condo to spare me from the hassles of living in Antipolo. It was like going to war everyday that I had to come to work. My battle gear consisted of a flashlight, an umbrella, a raincoat, a jacket, a foot towel, my trusty slippers and food contingency.

On the day Ondoy struck, my mind was preoccupied with how to end the month with better metrics, that is, what to push some more, urgh! I wasn’t paying attention to weather reports either, and who ever did take those seriously?

Many hours into sleep, I roused from bed having felt suddenly warm. I first wondered if I hadn’t turned the air conditioner on but then, my electric fan was off too. Outside my unit, there were just the emergency lights in the corners of the corridors. My neighbors were apparently prepared; some had their doors opened, some had candles lit, others had rechargeable lamps. All I had was half of a 6-inch candle and a newly bought scented one which I reluctantly had to use. And four hours more till sunrise!!

As I now keep thinking how lucky I am to be on the 12th floor of a condominium building and thankful to my children for this endowment, I owe some people prayers that they may be able to recover from the onslaught of another cruel typhoon.
I’ve had my share of typhoon-related misfortunes – wading in murky water, car submerged in the flood (somewhere in Mandaluyong), waking up into 2 inches of rain water from a leak in the ceiling (somewhere in UP Village), and such.

For the meantime, God must really know how much of a calamity I’ve been through. May I hasten to add, He keeps watch over me for sure, as He does everybody. Not that I am not a sinner, thus exempt from Ondoy’s wrath. Keep the Faith burning…. perhaps one day, we will all get used to having amphibians for cars.

Condominium Living

What’s in a name?

In real estate, one has got to know the developer. Topmost in my mind is Ayala whose prime residential development near a place I stayed was a dream location. Out there, I could have my grandsons study at a Jesuit-run school or other, such as a Benedictine institution located on Manotok Street, named after a family who owns an exclusive 35-hectare property there. This vast property has only sixteen houses built for family members. They’ve stopped building at sixteen for some reason.

Speaking of Ayala and that development I dreamt of one day owning a piece, I decided it was too pricey but who knows? I might get lucky and try my spell on the Manotok clan to reward me for raising my kids who are undeniably descendants of one of their own. Then I get a prime location for a home. For now though, I’m thinking condominium living is most practical.

Along Ortigas Avenue Extension is a development being undertaken by Filinvest. One Oasis promises to be a cluster of no higher than 5 storey buildings comprised of flats or studios, one bedroom units, up to two bedrooms. By now, many of the studios have been turned over to owners at a price of Php1.7 million a unit of about 25 square meters. Neat and no frills. Units that have balconies have a view of the gardens that’ll be put up and yes, there’ll be a swimming pool too – an imperative during the scorching summer days.

Somewhere in Mandaluyong also being developed, is an “urban oasis.” Tivoli Garden Residences by DMCI offers up to 3 bedroom units in towers ranging from 24-28 levels. What makes this development unique is the sky patios on every five floors, providing residents with direct access to lush Asian tropical gardens. I could think of one purpose for which the sky patios are going to be a hit. Try smoking lounges!

Up on the 10th floor of Tivoli Garden Residences, I spotted Makati City Hall just across the Pasig River. Somehow, the Pasig River holds an enchantment for me especially in the evening. This is the view I get from Cybergate 2 where I now spend most of my evenings working with a call center. A two bedroom unit measuring 51 square meters at Tivoli Garden Residences sells for slightly over Php3.0 million. Not bad at all.

I’d go for oases, meaning, there’s greenery in an otherwise arid area. It’s a come-on, even as it’s landscaping galore to camouflage urban dwelling in the thick of Metro Manila. Filinvent and DMCI, without coaching from one another, may have planned and positioned these developments to attract prospective buyers away from areas where only a street separates one condominium tower from another. Again, maybe I’m claustrophobic… there’s another condominium building now being constructed along Pioneer, across Cybergate 2. You’d hear concrete pouring on certain days, sometimes you can mistake it for a typhoon minus thunder and lightning. Oh well....

M/V Angelica

M/V Angelica rests on Galera, a few paces away from Casa Santa at Jardin de Marimar located in cool and breezy Antipolo City.

My Aunt's Green and Gold Thumbs

Gardens are gardens and there are a number I’ve seen, from a lowly vegetable garden in Los Baños that classifies as self-sustaining but that it bears the crispiest (yes!) eggplant I’ve ever eaten raw. It’s the smallest eggplant too, measuring less than an inch in diameter and about 3 inches in length.

Jardin de Miramar, situated in the cool and breezy city of Antipolo is a 3-hectare property owned by an aunt on my maternal side. In 14 years, she has transformed it into a museum of sorts and venues open to the public for all occasions, especially so because it has a Casa Santa, housing 2410 pieces of figurines, stuff toys, chess pieces, and life-size moving versions of Santa and Mrs. Santa singing Christmas carols and such. In Casa Santa, you get lost in dreams of what holds for you under the Christmas tree, young as you are or ageless in spirit. Folk architect Rosario Encarnacion Tan remodelled what used to be my aunt’s family vacation home into Santa and Mrs. Santa’s abode.

A few paces away from Casa Santa is Galera where M/V Angelica rests. The 50-year old boat is an authentic antique wooden fishing vessel reconstructed by Ral Arrogante and whose lighting design was done by Shoko Matsumoto. In the play area, there are also the lighthouse and pyramid tree strewn with mock fish and a net where children can frolic and play, maybe as pirates in the Carribean. To me though, Galera evokes a feeling of something like the movie, “Message in a Bottle.”

Further into Jardin is Intramuros, a romantic place for wedding receptions as it exudes a flavour of intimacy and as the name implies, it’s a replica of the Intramuros walls. There’s a small bridge where any newly-wed couple can enjoy being photographed and the hanging thunbergia vines provide a natural hide-and-seek if they’re in a playful mood or would rather be in an otherwise blissful event.

Newly built Sevilla is a ballroom that has radiant and masterfully created walls by body artist and muralist Alfred Galvez. It is ideal for a debut perhaps, with no less than a live band providing bombastic music. Imagine the debutante changing into a punk rock outfit or hip-hop, dancing the night away.

Jardin is accentuated with sculptures, for instance, at the entrance, two bronze life-size figurines of children by 2007 TOYM awardee Michael Cacnio play under a huge mango tree. There are other interesting pieces such as Fortune Bounty by National Heritage awardee Eduardo Castrillo, bigger than life La Novia de Jardin by the up and coming Daniel dela Cruz, and Subject of the Sublime by Bonifacio High Street’s Reg Yuson. Jardin is studded with plants in a landscape design by CCP Artist awardee Tony Leano. I can’t even begin to enumerate all those lovely plants.

My indefatigable aunt never ceases to awe me. She’s planning to launch a toy collectible Santa for 2009, and develop the lagoon area which used to be her nursery for water plants when she dabbled in the nursery business. All thumbs green and gold for my aunt!


Thanks to Tita Edna del Rosario for allowing me to “double take” the venues. Same goes to her staff.

Photos above are: Intramuros, Casa Santa, and bronze figurines under a mango tree by Cacnio.

Sundries: Malling

Several times I had been asked to gather some friends at Gateway Mall in Cubao, either as a meet up place or to shop. I must admit the food court was a pretty convenient excuse to indulge myself with Razon’s halo-halo, Dairy Queen’s blizzard, and Taco Bell’s churros.

In the past month, however, Gateway Mall has lost its luster to me at least, after a salisi incident that happened. Quite succinctly, I am now a clueless, non-identifiable person, save for my passport and my dentist’s records. Quite disappointing too, the Mall’s security force was of no help, with a negative output to my request for a CCTV search. Who knows how many calls I missed, how many text messages, and how many inspirational messages I would have read if I hadn’t lost my cellphone. Who knows if the offer to be a talent came to pass…

I should feel lucky, nonetheless, for having a measly six hundred pesos in my Coach (urggh!) wallet. I should feel lucky for having only brand name cosmetics in a purse, an heirloom coral bracelet, and a cellphone containing only about a hundred names and their contact information, among others, all in a black “have seen the light of day” kind of bag. I should not complain, albeit, lose sleep over it, compared to someone who reportedly lost thirty thousand pesos withdrawn from her ATM to a budol-budol gang in Trinoma.

Speaking of Trinoma, my daughter and I went to see “Nights in Rodanthe” with Richard Gere playing a doctor whose patient he loses while on the operating table. Leading lady and his paramour, Diane Lane, is an artist who takes Richard to see her art collection in her basement (not sure, because I was sleepy) and obviously flirts with him. They have a romantic episode at the height of a storm (ieeeww). My daughter and I entered the cinema late and we left the movie unfinished. I like Richard Gere for other movies he starred in, but not this one. I love Diane Lane for her role in the movie “Unfaithful” where she and her husband successfully cover up the homicide of Diane’s young lover. I wonder if “Nights in Rodanthe” is making money, the cinema at Trinoma was almost empty.

As Christmas is in the air, my suggestion to everyone is to shop early, shop wisely and keep everything toned down, your celebration need not be pompous. AND watch your wallets, nothing wrong with spending in cash.

Cool, Cool Nandana

I have never been to Boracay. My daughter Niña has been there quite a few times; my daughter Kitkat spent two weeks there. I missed an opportunity to go there a few months back. My friend Nelia who extended the invitation has a parking business in Caticlan, which is a boat ride to Boracay.

Now being built in Boracay is Nandana Boracay Beach Hotel, a four-storey condotel on a 2,000 square meter property, with an infinity pool right in the middle of the structure when finished. There’ll be two side pool spas, according to the scale model I saw. And of course, the white sand beach is the come on. Construction now on-going, Nandana Boracay Beach Hotel is on Station 1, Barangay Balabay, Central Boracay. There’s even a Barangay Manoc-Manoc on the other side, facing Caticlan. I can’t tell where Asya is based on the map – this is a hotel owned by my client in a past life, Choy Cojuangco.

Nandana’s condotel units are the standard 30 plus square meters to 50 plus square meters, being offered at prices depending on payment plans, extending to up to 3 years. The architect, Felix S. Lim, is someone I had interviewed years ago when I launched China Steel Towers in Binondo. Oooooh, I remember that. We had a dragon dance right at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Roxas Boulevard and the honored guest was FVR as in Fidel V. Ramos, when he was the Secretary of National Defense.

Nandana will be run by Crown Regency Hotels – and a promise of one-month stay a year is one of your perks. An annual return of US$8,400.00 to whoever acquires a unit is certainly enticing. Incidentally, I signed up as a broker. Any takers?

CONDOTEL, explained

During my trips to Singapore in the 90s, I was introduced to the concepts of boutique hotel and condominium hotel (now known as condotel). I was awed by such concepts but never really understood what each meant, till now.

I think, and I can be challenged here, that a boutique hotel is a small one as the name implies. One example comes to mind and this is the boutique hotel owned by the Zobels in San Francisco close to El Cortez. My brother and I took a look at the boutique hotel one time but there was no way I could afford the rates then.

A condominium hotel by nomenclature is a combination of a condominium and a hotel, thus condotel. The concept has caught on and if I could engage you regarding its benefits, to begin – it’s an investment cum a vacation home at the same time. Depending on what’s being offered by the condotel, which could range from accommodations at any time of the year for you and your family, you as OWNER, will have YOUR place without the hassles of maintenance. And here’s what, your investment pays off because you can arrange with the hotel management to have your unit rented out when you’re not using it. You only need to agree with the hotel management to split evenly.

I have been working for a while with the developer of Calicoan Island Resort and the condotel concept has not just caught on. It’s growing on me. Take a look at what Calicoan Island Resort promises to be in two to three years…. Boracay may be the next best thing after this. Check out Calicoan’s website, www.cirdc.com.