An Unexpected Trip to the ER

It started on Friday afternoon. My abdomen felt some pain each time I would take a breath. Initially, I thought it may just have been a muscular problem because I woke up with some back pain. However, the pain started to get worse in the evening. I was hoping that by the time I woke up the next day, the pain would be gone. But it wasn't. I decided I needed to see a doctor.

Unfortunately, my HMO is a bit challenging to use because apparently, you need to find your own doctor before you can request a letter of authorization (LOA). Also, since it was a Saturday, I couldn't ask our company clinic for help. I decided the best option would be for me to go to a hospital emergency room (ER) since ERs normally work with the HMOs to get the necessary LOAs and paperwork done. I decided that Medical City in Pasig would be my best option.

I knew that my abdominal pain wouldn't be flagged as top priority after triage at the ER (I was right) so I was expecting a long wait. It took about an hour for me to get a more thorough doctor's assessment. She said that my abdomen was swollen and when she put pressure on one side of it, it hurt a lot. She prescribed some bloodwork as well as an abdominal CT scan. She also told me I needed IV fluids since I needed an empty stomach for the CT scan and it would take a while before I would get my turn so having an IV meant that I wouldn't need to eat.

The doctor said I would most likely be in the ER until the evening so if I had any plans that evening, I should cancel them. While I didn't have plans with other people that night, I was actually planning to finalize trip preparations for my family's trip to go on safari Kenya a week later. I still needed to sort out our electronic travel authorisations (which is sort of like a visa) and secure travel insurance. Being in the ER was worrisome because I wasn't sure how serious my condition was and if I needed to be confined, which could throw off our travel plans. And of course, no one wants to have a serious health concern that puts them in the hospital.

It was late in the evening when I finally got my diagnosis: it wasn't a serious condition and I didn't need to be confined. Whew! However, I would most likely to continue to be in some pain and discomfort over the next few days so the doctor told me to be in bed rest for four days. He also prescribed me a couple of meds, including a pain reliever.

Needing to go on bed rest was tough since I still needed to sort out many things for our safari but thankfully, I didn't need to be hospitalized. Hopefully, I recover fully in time for my family's trip.

Wimbledon 2024

Carlos Alcaraz continues to make a name for himself as he successfully defended his Wimbledon title, defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 in the final. Alcaraz has now beaten Djokovic in back-to-back Wimbledon finals (he did this too in 2023), which is an amazing feat considering Novak's legendary status and how no one else outside of Carlos has beaten him at Wimbledon since 2018. This is Carlos' second Wimbledon title, his fourth major championship, and his second Grand Slam title this year. Carlos is really on track to be one of the all-time greats in tennis and he is only 21 years old. Amazing!

To win here is special. To defend here is elite.

Carlos Alcaraz is the 2024 Gentlemen’s Singles Champion 🏆#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/kJedyXf0vn

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2024

Barbora Krejcikova won her first Wimbledon title and her second Grand Slam trophy, defeating Jasmine Paolini in three sets, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. This is an amazing result for Krejcikova who hasn't made too much of an impact in a Grand Slam event since her French Open win in 2021. In fact, since then, she has only made it past the 1st week of a major three times and in those cases, she did not advance past the quarterfinals. Barbora paid tribute to her ex-coach and mentor, Jana Novotna, who herself won Wimbledon in 1998 (Jana sadly passed away 7 years ago).

Breathtaking. Brilliant. Barbora.

Barbora Krejcikova is the 2024 Ladies’ Singles Champion 🏆#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Xz0jjezO89

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2024

Diede De Groot has added to her legacy yet again, defeating Aniek van Koot in the Women's Wheelchair championship match 6-4, 6-4. This is now Diede's 4th Wimbledon in a row, her 6th Wimbledone in total, her 16th Grand Slam Women's Wheelchair title in a row, and her 23rd grand slam singles title. She also has 18 Grand Slam doubles titles, making her a truly dominant force in women's wheelchair tennis.

15 Love ❤️

Diede de Groot extends her record streak to 15 consecutive Grand Slam singles titles 🤯

De Groot defeated compatriot Aniek Van Koot 6-4, 6-4 to become the first winner at the 2024 Championships 🏆#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/ikm5fQeK0c

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2024

Congratulations Carlos, Barbora, and Diede!

The Fat Seed Cafe + Roastery

The Fat Seed Cafe + Roastery has been in my radar for a while now. I learned about this place when looking for possible brunch venues with my friends. Its menu really appealed to me when I saw it so when I was in Glorietta recently and was thinking of a place to eat, I remembered that there was a Fat Seed branch at One Ayala Mall and decided to eat there.

Fat Seed Cafe + Roastery

For this first visit, I wanted to try a couple of items on their menu. First, I ordered their Bacon and Cheese Omelet (P270).

Cheese Omelet

I asked the waiter if it came with some toast and he said it didn't so I decided to pair it with their Grilled Cheese Sandwich (P380), which is a parmesan crusted brioche with four cheeses, served with tomato soup. That's a really good combo in my book.

The Grilled Cheese Sandwich comes with Tomato Soup

There wasn't anything too fancy about the dishes I ordered but they are flavorful comfort foods that make for a perfect brunch/lunch. I quite enjoyed my first visit here so when I had another opportunity to visit, I did. This time around, I ordered the Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Ube Waffle. There are a few options for this particular dish - 1 chicken and 1/2 waffle, 1 chicken and 1 waffle, and 2 chickens and 1 waffle. I decided to get the 1 chicken and 1 waffle option (P420). I don't think I've ever had ube waffles before but this was pretty good. I'm a fan of Chicken and Waffles so this dish was right up my alley.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Ube Waffle

On my third and most recent trip to Fat Seed, I was pretty hungry so I decided to order The Notorious Big (P625). This is their version of a big breakfast set, with eggs, bacon, sausages, skillet mushrooms, tomato, and sourdough. This is my go-to dish whenever I visit places that serve brunch and this one didn't disappoint.

The Notorious Big

What I also love about The Fat Seed Cafe + Roastery is its ambience. It's very cozy and welcoming, making it an ideal place to chill out with friends or read a book while enjoying some good coffee. There are plants all over the restaurant and on the tables, adding some color and warmth. There are also unique decorative pieces inside, such as the very interesting and striking light fixture at the center of the restaurant.

Interior of Fat Seed in One Ayala Mall

The Fast Seed Cafe + Roastery has four branches in Metro Manila: One Ayala, Greenbelt 3, UP Town Center, and BGC. Clearly, I love this place as I've visited it three times already in a short span of time. I will definitely be visiting this place a lot more in the future.

The Fat Seed Cafe + Roastery
https://fatseed.com.ph/

Happy Birthday, Wolf!

I will be perfectly honest: none of us at home know exactly when the birthday is of our pet dog Wolf. We adopted him from my grandparents when their dogs gave birth to a few puppies and couldn't take care of all of them. I do know he moved to our home in June. We don't normally celebrate Wolf's birthday - probably because we don't know the specific date - but this year, I thought we would celebrate at least his birth month.

Wolf has been getting sick a lot recently. I guess that's not at all surprising considering he is more than a decade old, making him a senior among dogs. Shortly before his birth month, he was in really bad shape. He lost a lot of weight because he wasn't eating and one day, as I was petting him, I noticed he was losing his fur at a more rapid rate than usual. I told my nephew to take him to the vet, which he did, and after taking some medication, he started to get better. I don't know how much more time we have with our beloved dog who has been with us longer than any pet we've had in the past so it made sense for us to celebrate his birthday, even if we didn't know exactly when it was. I saw this Chubby Paws 4-inch rainbow birthday cake with beef and liver flavor at Pet Express and got it for him. Thankfully, he liked it.

Rainbow birthday cake from Chubby Paws

Happy birthday, Wolf!

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino

I recently read my first book this year - The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino - and oh wow, it was outstanding! I love it so much that it is now one of my favorites of all time (and it may very well be my absolute favorite).

I discovered it when I was looking for possible books to include in Secret Santa wishlist last Christmas. I realized that it's been a while since I read a suspense thriller so I searched for fiction novels in this category in Fully Booked online. A few books by Keigo Higashino came up in my search. As I looked through them, The Miracles of The Namiya General Store kept popping up as a related book because it had the same author. The title made me curious so I clicked on the link and checked out its description:

“From exactly midnight until daybreak, the Namiya General Store advice box will be reopening for one night only.”

When three delinquents hole up in an abandoned general store after their most recent robbery, to their great surprise, a letter drops through the mail slot in the store’s shutter. This seemingly simple request for advice sets the trio on a journey of discovery as, over the course of a single night, they step into the role of the kindhearted former shopkeeper who devoted his waning years to offering thoughtful counsel to his correspondents. Through the lens of time, they share insight with those seeking guidance, and by morning, none of their lives will ever be the same.

As soon as I read this, I was immediately intrigued and wanted to get my own copy. I couldn't add it to my wishlist though because it was out of stock in Fully Booked. Thankfully, it was available on Amazon so I decided to buy it there.

The author, Keigo Higashino, is Japanese so his work had to be translated to English. I have so many thoughts on this novel and why I find it to be utterly sublime and incredibly powerful. It has themes of dreams and hopes and love and even, to some degree, regret. I guess all these really go hand in hand. The people to whom the letters are written, the sequence of letters, the series of events, and how the story flows across time and space all just tie up so elaborately and yet so neatly together. It was such a journey to read different stories from different people across generations and how their lives intersect in transformative and surprising ways.

I will say that the climax was a bit predictable for me, although it was the only thing I predicted (maybe reading all the previous twists and turns in this novel made me start expecting the unexpected). That said, the final letter - I won't share who wrote it and to whom it was written - was such a powerfully moving revelation that left me in awe once I finally put the book down.

I will also say that the chapter that affected me the most was the second one. As soon as I finished it, I found myself tearing up at the cafe where I was reading. It's the first time I cried because of a book. Even now, when I think about it, I am still deeply affected. I won't say anything more than that because I don't want to spoil it but needless to say, it was extremely emotional.

At 314 pages, it's a relatively short book. That, and the fact that it's such a beautiful novel that I just couldn't put down, allowed me to finish reading it in just one day, which is very rare for me. I started this blog post saying The Miracles of the Namiya General Store may very well be my favorite book that I've read. In fact, I raved about it so much that another friend got it for herself too. If you have a chance to get a copy of this book and/or read it, please do so. I very highly recommend it.

Midweek Meet-ups

I got to meet up with some really good friends over dinner just this last week. On Tuesday night, I met up with my very good friend Duncan who was in town with his family. I am also close with his wife Amy but she was also meeting up with another friend whom she hadn't seen in a while that same nights so she couldn't join us. They were staying at Discovery Suites in Ortigas so Duncan and I agreed to meet in Podium. We had dinner at Nono's and I'm happy I picked that place because Duncan enjoyed the food. The thing about great friendships is that even if you haven't seen each other in a while, you always pick up where you left off and that's exactly what it's like with us. While we could have stayed at Nono's for dessert and coffee, we decided to move to Wildflour instead. I'm thankful that we did because Amy was having dinner with her friend there, which meant that I got to see and catch up a bit with her too! Duncan and I ordered the Apple Pie and Bibingka Cheesecake and some coffee. It was a really good evening and hopefully, I get to see them more frequently in the future.

Wildflour Apple Pie

On Wednesday night, I met up with my ex-colleagues Irish and Michelle at Shangri-La Plaza Mall. Because I am a BFF card holder, I got an SMS saying that Fish & Co was celebrating its 19th anniversary in the Philippines and all BFF card holders could enjoy 50% off on all Fish & Chips orders on June 26. I suggested to Michelle and Irish that we could have dinner here and use my discount and they agreed. I hadn't eaten at Fish & Co in a while and I'm glad we had dinner here because I really do think that theirs is the best fish and chips in town. The mall closes at 9pm but we wanted to have coffee and dessert after so we headed to Refinery just outside the mall because it is open until about midnight.

Fish and Chips from Fish & Co

It's been a while since I had dinner meet-ups with friends on two consecutive weeknights. I guess I really am getting old haha. Still, it is always good to connect with great friends and I'm happy I continue to have these opportunities.

Netflix Triviaverse

I can't believe it's taken me all this time to discover Triviaverse on Netflix!

I was looking for something to watch when I stumbled upon Triviaverse. I love trivia games so I thought I would give it a go. Each game is played over three 1-minute rounds. In each round, you are asked trivia questions and you select what you think the answer is by using your remote control. The first answer you get correct is worth 100 points, the second correct answer in a row that you get is worth 150 points, and every consecutive answer you get after that is worth 200 points. If you make a mistake, your next correct answer is worth 100 points again so the goal here is to get as many consecutive answers correct as you can and get 200 points per question.

I ended up finding this game to be extremely addictive! I would play several games in a row, especially if I wasn't happy with the last one. In the first game I played, I breached 2000 points, which placed me at the Lucky Guesser level haha. I got the hang of the game and moved up quickly after that, eventually breaching 4000 points and getting to the Super Nerd level haha.

Interestingly enough, a lot of the questions get repeated as you keep playing the game so eventually, started to remember the correct answer to some questions. Because of that, I eventually achieved my best result - 7300 points! To get this score, I had to answer 38 out of 39 questions correctly making me a Triviaverse God. Awesome!

My worst category at the point I took the screenshot above was Geography but over time, my worst category has switched among Geography, History, and Sports. However, my highest score has remained to be Animals.

While I continue to play this game, I still haven't managed to beat my high score. To make things even more difficult, once I stopped playing for a while, I started to forget some of the answers haha. Still, I absolutely love Netflix Triviaverse and I'm glad I discovered it. If you are a fan of trivia games, you should try it!