A Small Donation and Other Random Stuff

Before our dog Wolf passed away, the vet told us that we needed to manage his diet and nutrition by feeding him Royal Canin Urinary SO. It was difficult to find this particular dog food so I bought a couple of week's worth of it when I finally found it. Sadly, Wolf passed away and we were left with several cans of Royal Canin Urinary SO that we didn't have any use for. My research also indicated that it's not good to feed it to dogs that aren't sick. I learned from a friend of mine told me I could donate our remaining cans to Animal Kingdom Foundation. I reached out to them on Facebook and they told me that they I could indeed give them the specialized dog food I still had. They are only open during working hours on weekdays so it took a while for me to finally send them the dog food but finally, I did. Hopefully, it can help another dog (or dogs) get better.

My dog food donation to Animal Kingdom Foundation

Going from giving a donation to being the recipient of something, I recently received a couple of gift certificates of Golden Delight ice cream. You can get this particular brand from Icecreamhouse which has several branches in Metro Manila. One of the GCs I had was worth P300 and I used it to get a half gallon of Cookies and Cream and a pint of Sans Rival (I would have preferred to get a half gallon of sans rival since it isn't a common flavor but it wasn't available in a gallon size). My family used to buy ice cream from Icecreamhouse but we haven't done that in a while so it was good to enjoy Golden Delight again after such a long time. 

Golden Delight Ice Cream from Icecreamhouse

Since we're talking about nostalgia, I recently downloaded Plants vs Zombies again. I'm not particularly sure what triggered this. I think I revisited a place where my nephews attended a Plants vs Zombies-themed Halloween party when they were still very young and that memory suddenly made me want to download and play it again. I don't think I know anyone who still plays Plants vs Zombies but I will say that I still enjoy it.

Plants vs Zombies

I'm also really happy that what seemed to be a bit of a frivolous purchase I made a few months ago has turned out to be a brilliant decision. I wrote about buying American Eagle jeans that I didn't exactly need just because they were on sale, with a discounted price of P900. As it turns out, my other good pair of jeans just ripped at the butt area, in the section adjacent to where it had already been previously patched up. I had a tailor look at it and they said that if they put another patch on it, it'll get too thick and possibly uncomfortable to wear. I decided not to have it patched up anymore, which means that my new pair of jeans has now become my primary pair of jeans. So I guess I can now consider it to be a valuable purchase and not a frivolous one haha. Cool!

PLDT High Speed Hitters win their second PVL Gold!

What a result! Just a few weeks after winning their first ever PVL championship, the PLDT High Speed Hitters win another one: the 2025 PVL Invitational. They achieved this feat without dropping a game the entire tournament, defeating guest team Kobe Shinwa in four sets in the final.  

TWO WEEKS, TWO TROPHIES 🏆

From preseason glory to Invitational dominance, the PLDT High Speed Hitters sweep their way to the 2025 PVL Invitational crown!#PVLInvitational #PVL2025 #TheHeartofVolleyball pic.twitter.com/5TYPnVkeIF

— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) August 31, 2025

There are few more amazing stats about this title run. First, PLDT was the only team to beat the Japanese team Kobe Shinwa and they did it twice - once during the round robin matches and again during the finals. Second, PLDT remained undefeated throughout the tournament, winning all five games they played. This is the second consecutive tournament that PLDT didn't lose a single match. This now takes their win streak to 13 consecutive games. For a team that were always so close to a podium finish for 3 years, it's amazing to see them now achieve great success.

RING THEM TWICE ☎️🏆

The PLDT High Speed Hitters keep their momentum alive by adding the 2025 PVL Invitational crown to their preseason title with a clean, undefeated slate!#PVLInvitational #PVL2025 #TheHeartofVolleyball pic.twitter.com/y96CTGscyq

— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) August 31, 2025

I am also really happy with the awardees. First, Savi Davison, who has continually been a key player of PLDT, won the Conference MVP for her excellent performance throughout the tournament. Well-deserved, Savi!

SAVI IS PVL INVITATIONALS MVP 🏆

PLDT's Savi Davison wins her first Most Valuable Player award as the 2025 PVL Invitational Conference came to a close on Sunday.

READ: https://t.co/dqicKElO98 pic.twitter.com/TenPMOD7jx

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) September 1, 2025

Also well-deserved: Team Captain Kath Arado was awarded Finals MVP. While she has won multiple best libero, best digger, and best receiver awards, this is the first time she has won an MVP. Congrats, Kath!

CAN’T GET PAST KATH 🏆

Kath Arado rings in the Finals MVP award, steering the PLDT High Speed Hitters to the 2025 PVL Invitational crown with her full coverage defense against Kobe Shinwa University!#PVL2025 #TheHeartOfVolleyball #PVLInvitational pic.twitter.com/zrrBrsbeoC

— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) August 31, 2025

Congratulations PLDT High Speed Hitters and may you continue to achieve success in the future!

La Latina in Greenbelt

My family and I had dinner at La Latina after my nephew's performance at the Kaliwa't Kanang Kalabitan concert. This restaurant in Greenbelt offers many dishes from the different countries in Latin America. We didn't initially plan to eat here but it turned out to be such a wonderful new discovery and a perfect choice for us.

La Latina in Greenbelt 5

I say that we didn't initially plan to eat here because our idea was to have dinner somewhere in Ortigas. My nephew's girlfriend watched the concert with us and we thought of having dinner in Ortigas since she lives in that area. When we left St. Scho, I used waze to help us figure out the best route and I saw that we would take Ayala Avenue. By this time, everyone was hungry and the traffic was still bad, so I suggested that since we were already along Ayala, we could just have dinner at Greenbelt and my family agreed.

Even in Greenbelt, La Latina wasn't our first choice. I thought of having dinner at Tartufo because my friends said that this is a really good Italian restaurant, but when we got there, they didn't have a table that could fit us. La Latina and Sentro were next to Tartufo and both of them still had available tables so I asked my family where they wanted to eat. My brother said that we always have Filipino food so our decision was made. La Latina it was!

We ordered a variety of dishes from all over Latin America. And yes, I say Latin America and not South America because their menu included many dishes from Mexico which is geographically in North America. That said, the menu actually also includes some Spanish dishes such as paella and croquetas. I ordered the Croquetas De Marisco - seafood croquetas made with shrimp, octopus, clams and mussels - for our appetizer.

Croquetas De Marisco

Many of us tried Mexican food. We shared Camarones al Ajillo, or garlic prawns cooked with salsa macha, a traditional Mexican sauce made with chiles.

Camarones al Ajillo

My nephew's girlfriend ordered the Quesabirria, which are slow-cooked beef short ribs with melted cheese. My mom had the Tacos Gobernador, which had sauteed shrimp, veggies, and melted cheese and was served with salsa macha. I absolutely love the presentation of the tacos, which were served in a shrimp-shaped holder. It was super cool! 

Tacos Gobernador

I also had the Mole Poblano Beef Cheek. The only other time I've had mole was when I went to Mexico back in 2004 so I thought it would be great to have it again. This dish involved cooking the beef in one of the quintessential sauces from Mexico and it is served with corn tortillas and rice on the side. It was delicious and the beef was very tender!

Mole Poblano Beef Cheek

We also ordered a couple of items from Argentina. I got Empanadas Argentinas for us to share. Argentina is known for their beef empanadas - I was lucky to try it when my mom and I visited Argentina in 2018 - so I thought the rest of my family might want to try it too.

Empanadas Argentinas

My nephew ordered Milanesa, which takes it roots from the Italian Milanese dish and has become a staple in many countries in South America, including Argentina (I actually also had Milanesa during my Argentina trip). It's a beef dish that is thinly pounded, breaded, and fried then served with a sous vide egg and creamy truffle bechamel. Their Milanesa was quite huge so my nephew shared some of it with the rest of us.

Milanesa

We also enjoyed a couple of dishes from Peru. My brother ordered the Tuna Ceviche, which is served with cilantro and coconut milk, and I ordered another one for everyone to enjoy. Ceviche is like the national dish of Peru and my mom and I got to enjoy it when were there. The version in La Latin was really good!

Tuna Ceviche

Finally, my other nephew ordered the Tiradito de Salmón, which is raw salmon with jalapeño and aji amarillo emulsion. It is apparently a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese culinary techniques.

Tiradito de Salmón

Aside from the great food, I also love the design of the restaurant. It has very festive decor that livens up the atmosphere. Even the restroom is very aesthetic and clean. I love how there are cacti and plants next to the sink.

La Latina restroom

I have to say, it was a such a treat discovering La Latina. It's on the expensive side but everything we had was great. The fact that we got to try dishes from different countries with different flavor profiles made our dining experience even more enjoyable, as if we ourselves were traveling across Latin America through the food. I also love their presentation. I mentioned the very cool shrimp taco holder but our complimentary nachos were also served in a brightly colored pepper-shaped bowl. Cool!

Complimentary nachos

Our plates were also really eye-catching, with everyone getting a plate with a different animal on it. I got a bull...

...while my nephew got a tiger. (I wonder where I can get plates like these. I want some for myself!)

Our dinner at La Latina was the perfect way to celebrate my nephew's successful guitar performance. I really do highly recommend La Latina and I hope I can eat here again soon.

La Latina
https://www.facebook.com/p/La-Latina-Manila-100084879604244/
https://www.instagram.com/lalatina.ph/
Address: G/F, 5 Greenbelt Dr, Makati City, Metro Manila
Phone: 0966 958 7020 

Kaliwa't Kanang Kalabitan: Guitar Ensemble Festival

Kaliwa't Kanang Kalabitan is a Guitar Ensemble Festival held at St. Scholastica's College. Several groups were invited to perform during this 3-day event (August 29 to 31), including the Sibol Guitar Ensemble of UST. My nephew is part of this group which meant that he would be performing. He invited our family to watch the show so naturally, we did.

Six different groups performed on Saturday afternoon: Animaguitara Ensemble of St. Paul Pasig, the UP Guitar Quartet, Sibol Guitar Octet from UST, the UP Guitar Guild, the PLM Guitar Ensemble, and the CCP Kabataang Gitarista. It was a really amazing concert! I got introduced to so many beautiful and fascinating pieces and everyone was incredibly talented. You could tell that all the performers on stage, no matter what their age, had such a passion for music.

One of my favorite groups that afternoon was the UP Guitar Quartet who performed two pieces that I really enjoyed. Because there was no program, I didn't know what they were. Thankfully, I was able to ask one of the members of the quartet after the show and he told me what they played: Tafelmusik by George Philipp Telemann and Adios Nonino by Astor Piazolla. I now know that Tafelmusik by Telemann is actually a collection of many compositions, so I don't know exactly which one the group played. But maybe this gives me an opportunity to discover new music (or rather, new to me).

I did manage to note down a couple of other pieces and songs that were performed, either because I recognized them or because a voice-over shared what music that particular group would play. The PLM Guitar Ensemble performed the 3 movements of Habanero from Carmen and the UP Guitar Guild played a cool version of Bini's Pantropiko. Sadly, I wasn't able to note down much more than that. The youngest performers that afternoon were high school students from The Animaguitara Ensemble and the CCP Kabataang Gitarista. The Animaguitara Ensemble is composed of students from the Guitar 1 Class of St. Paul Pasig under their teacher Jonathan Gonzales. The CCP Kabataang Gitarista is composed of public high school students in Metro Manila and they have apparently won awards both locally and internationally, which is amazing!

Of course, the highlight for me was getting to see my nephew perform with the Sibol Guitar Octet. They played four pieces, starting with Introduction et Fandango by Luigi Boccherini. Apparently, this piece was originally written for a string quartet before being adapted for guitars and strings. They then performed three parts - I, III, and VIII - of Suite Polymorphe by Roland Dyens. Roland Dyens is a French classical guitarist and composer who is considered to be one of the best guitarists of his generation. I really loved their performance as well as their musical selection! Also, seeing my nephew play with such a high level of confidence and proficiency, together with other incredible musicians, made me really proud. Before the show started, my nephew suggested where I should sit to get a good view of him and thankfully, I went into the auditorium early and managed to get the recommended seat.

The downside to the afternoon was that most of my family was unable to make on time because of the heavy downpour that resulted in very deep floods in the Quezon City area. They got stuck on the road for hours and by the time they arrived at St. Scho, the performance of Sibol was over. Because of that, I took videos of my nephew's performance so that my family could still watch and enjoy it after.

Once the show was over, all the groups were asked to return one by one to the stage where they were given certificates of participation. They then all got together for a big group photo.

It really enjoyed this concert. You could really tell that it meant a lot to everyone involved, from the performers to the organizers. The energy both during the show and after was very positive, supportive, and inspirational. (I overheard one of the groups say that another group lent them some equipment.) Souvenirs were being sold at the venue, including t-shirts with the Kaliwa't Kanang Kalabitan logo on it so we got one for my nephew. (Apparently, there is a discount for performers which was cool!) I also purchased a CD: Philippine Treasures Vol. 3 by Ramoncito Carpio, who is one of the leading classical guitarists in the country.

I love the fact that my nephew is getting more and more opportunities to perform. Hopefully he continues to refine his craft and becomes even more successful in his music journey.

Ramon Magsaysay Library

A couple of years ago, I saw an episode of the TV series Executive Class that featured the Ramon Magsaysay Library. It had a cafe next to it and you could actually enjoy coffee and food in the library. For me, it was a really cool concept and I had been interested to visit since then. I finally got to go on the same day that my mom and I watched Don Quixote. Since the Aliw Theater is only a short distance away from the Ramon Magsaysay Center, I suggested to my mom that we have lunch at the Library cafe and she agreed.

Ramon Magsaysay Library

Unfortunately, the date of our visit was bad timing. There were some installations being done on one of the walls so the library was not open to visitors. Such a shame! Thankfully, the restaurant there - Gourmet's Cafe by Gourmet Farms - has a proper dining section right next to the library proper so there was still a place for us to eat. Once we were done having lunch, we asked if we could step inside the library to take a few photos and we were allowed.

Statue of Ramon Magsaysay

I would love to visit the Ramon Magsaysay Library again the future and hopefully get to spend more time learning about the books and the artifacts here.

Don Quixote by Ballet Manila

I just watched Don Quixote at the Aliw Theater and it was incredible! It was the culmination of Ballet Manila's year-long celebration of their Pearl Year and what a magnificent exclamation point it was to close out their 30th anniversary.

Don Quixote by Ballet Manila at the Aliw Theater

According to the program, "Don Quixote is one of the most performed ballets of Ballet Manila." It is also "a happy ballet full of technically difficult choreography". The ballet differs from the novel written by Miguel de Cervantes in that in the ballet, the lead characters are Kitri and Basilio and the story revolves around their love story. Marinsky Ballet prima ballerina Renata Shakirova played the role of Kitri while Marinsky principal dancer Kimin Kim portrayed Basilio. They were both fantastic!

Renata Shakirova and Kimin Kim with Liza Macuja-Elizalde

This wasn't the first time I got to watch Renata Shakirova perform since she was also played the lead in Ballet Manila's staging of Giselle last year. I was in absolute awe of her then and that hasn't changed. She continues to seem as if she is floating on air as she moves effortlessly, elegantly, and expressively across the stage. She really has such incredible grace, artistry, and presence and is such a joy to watch. Kimin Kim was equally spectacular, showcasing an amazing athletic ability with his amazing leaps and turns that matched his artistic brilliance.

Liza Macuja-Elizalde addressed the audience before the show started and she said that because of the 30th anniversary celebration, the choreographed Don Quixote to include the entire ensemble of Ballet Manila in the cast. That definitely made this staging of Don Quixote even more significant and special. Everyone was amazing. In fact, this might have been the longest curtain call I have ever experienced in a Philippine ballet. The applause was thunderous and exultant and definitely very well-deserved.

Curtain call

When the program said that this was a happy ballet, they weren't kidding. I was not only very impressed with the incredible talent and skill that overflowed on the Aliw Theater stage, but seeing the show made me very happy. If Ballet Manila stages Don Quixote again in the future, I highly recommend that you go see it if you can.

PLDT High Speed Hitters win their first PVL Championship

Congratulations to the PLDT High Speed Hitters for winning the PVL on Tour championship!

CALL THEM CHAMPIONS 🏆❤️‍🔥

The PLDT High Speed Hitters rise to the moment and seize history, claiming their first-ever crown as the 2025 PVL on Tour preseason champions!#PVL2025 #PVLonTour #TheHeartofVolleyball pic.twitter.com/5yRr7Dmkaj

— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) August 17, 2025

This title comes with many firsts. Not only is it the first PVL championship of the team, it is actually their first podium finish. It is the first ever championship of Kath Arado ever since her collegiate days in UE. It is also the first ever PVL title of former DLSU players Mika Reyes, Kim Fajardo, Kim Kianna Dy, and Majoy Baron (they all won multiple championships in PSL and even in the UAAP but up until now, they hadn't won a PVL trophy). As if that wasn't enough, they did this without losing a single single game, sweeping the entire series.

YOUR FIRST-EVER ON TOUR QUEENS AND KINGS 😤

The High Speed Hitters and its coaches and staff complete an 8-0 run from round one to the Finals to complete a clean sweep and bag the PVL on Tour gold—a first in the franchise's history!

Maraming salamat sa buhay niyo! pic.twitter.com/PBbP7KpfPP

— PLDT High Speed Hitters (@speedhitters) August 17, 2025

I'm also very happy that Mika Reyes was awarded the Finals MVP. She scored 20 points, with 13 attacks and an amazing 7 blocks. It's nice to also see her playing well again after she sustained a shoulder injury.

MIKA REYES IS BACK ON TOP ✨

This one really knows how to play in the Finals.

Walang kaba. With plenty of assurance and encouraging words to her teammates pa.

Your 2025 PVL on Tour Finals MVP, MIKA REYES!!! ❤️‍🔥🏐☎️ #PusongPLDT pic.twitter.com/i4ih5R3GB9

— PLDT High Speed Hitters (@speedhitters) August 17, 2025

I've been a the PLDT High Speed Hitters since they joined the PVL in 2021, primarily because of Mika and Kath. The team finished 7th in their debut before finding their rhythm as a team and being a constant threat to the top teams. From 2022 to 2024, they had three 4th place finishes, five 5th place finishes, and one 6th place. They've been close to a podium finish almost every time but they could never quite see things through. Until now. This year, it seems that for the first time in a very long time, everyone in the team was healthy (or healthy enough). And things finally clicked for them.

THANK YOU TO THESE PLDT QUEENS FOR STAYING AND BELIEVING IN THE PLDT DREAM DESPITE THE MANY HEARTBREAKS! 😭❤️‍🔥🏐☎️ #PusongPLDT pic.twitter.com/2I334hIDFn

— PLDT High Speed Hitters (@speedhitters) August 17, 2025

They will now go into the PVL Invitational tournament with a lot of confidence. Hopefully this is a sign of even greater things for them and that they have more podium finishes and win more trophies in the future.