Tagaytay Wedding

The final wedding I attended in 2018 was that of my college friend, Kermin. She got married to Gerhard whom she met at work. They had known each other for many years now but it was only recently that sparks flew between them. Gerhard is from South Africa so the original plan was for them to get married there but they eventually decided to tie the knot in Tagaytay instead.

The wedding was held in Clear Water House which is right next to Charito by Bag of Beans. According to the invitation, the ceremony was supposed to start at 3:30pm but it started at around 4pm. Thankfully, it didn't start promptly because there was no available parking in Clear Water when I got there - I think maybe only 4-6 vehicles can park in the premises - so all other guests had to park in the nearby Cliff House.

It was raining during the wedding but even the uncooperative weather couldn't dampen the day's festivities. When Kermin made her way from her bridal car to the ceremony area, she needed to be escorted by someone with a huge umbrella but she was still radiant and had a broad smile on her face. Gerhard was also glowing.

The reception was set in the garden but there was a tent to prevent people from getting rained on. Thankfully, the rain stopped at some point during the ceremony so we managed to stay dry the rest of the night. Before the reception started though, a very inviting feast of snacks and drinks was served. I ended up having different varieties of cheese, olives, cold cuts, crackers, and even a really good vanilla cake.

The view of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano should have been glorious from Clear Water House but it was quite foggy. However, as the weather cleared, we managed to get a glimpse of Taal.

The reception had a South African theme. The were lots of earth tones and the stage area was decorated with beautiful vines and leaves and the side tables looked like tree trunks.

The three-layer wedding cake was also very African. It was decorated with giraffe, leopard, and zebra print icing. At the top, instead of the usual bride and groom figurines, it had two giraffes with their necks intertwined. Sweet! :)

There were also little animal figurines on the tables. Ours had a giraffe, an elephant, and a rhino. Gerhard told us these figures were ideally for kids but we could take them home (our table had only one child). I ended up taking home the rhino and Anna took home the elephant.

The food was really good. As mentioned, we had a cocktail spread that was delicious and the food during dinner was superb. I wasn't able to eat too much though because I had to sing late in the program and I didn't want to be too full. It was too bad because I would have wanted to have seconds (and even thirds) so that I could enjoy more of the amazing food.

For my song number, I ended up performing Martin Nievera's version of The Promise. This was the first time I sang at a wedding in a really long time. I honestly can't recall the last time I sang at a wedding before this. I was actually really worried because I had tonsillitis and I didn't get to practice enough because I didn't want to hurt my throat before the actual performance. Personally, I thought that my voice lacked a bit of texture and my breath control wasn't at its best but people seemed to enjoy my performance. As it turns out, right after my song number was the same-day-edit video and right after that was the couple's final speech of thanks. It was almost as if my performance was part of the finale of the night LOL. Lala did tell me that my song number was worthy of a finale, which I felt was a huge compliment coming from someone who is a huge music fan and who closely follows a lot of amazing music artists.

Aside from this wedding being a milestone night for Kermin, it also doubled as the Christmas get-together of my college friends. The program ended between 9 and 10pm but most of us stayed very late. Several of our college friends were staying overnight in Tagaytay while I was driving back to Manila but I ended up staying until midnight, sharing stories with everyone and listening to all the wonderful anecdotes. When I was about to leave, Kermin thanked me for the song, saying it made her feel special, which in turn made me feel special. Kermin and Gerhard have plans to move abroad soon so we all need to catch up again before they leave.

Congratulations and Best Wishes, Kermin and Gerhard!

Christmas Get-togethers

December proved yet again to be an incredibly packed month, what with all the Christmas get-togethers and reunions filling up my calendar. It started in the first week of December, when my ex-colleagues from my first job - Jette, Chari, Bett and Pikes, and Mitch - met for dinner at Fat Fook in Megamall. Jette was also celebrating her birthday so she treated us to coffee and dessert at Cafe France. The next gathering was more than a week later, when I joined my last team from my previous job for dinner at TGI Friday's. We had a white elephant exchange gift and it was really great catching up with everyone, a lot of whom I hadn't seen in almost two years. A couple of days after that, I joined the management team of our center of expertise for dinner in Anna Mae's condo in Taguig. We also had a simpler white elephant exchange gift and I ended up with a box of fancy M&S chocolates. The day after, one of my boardgaming groups which we call FGTC met up for our final game night of the year. Shortly before Christmas, I had dinner at Providore with my friends from my second company. I had been to Providore before but only for coffee and dessert. I got to try their main courses for the first time and I have to say, the food here is really good. I ordered their Grilled Beef Belly and it was absolutely delicious. I would absolutely love to have it again. (I also got to try their mac and cheese since Sophia couldn't eat all of it and it was good too!)

Grilled Beef Belly from Providore in SM Aura

I also had a handful of more intimate get-togethers. First, I got to hang out with Marco for the first time in months. His wife Cha joined and I hadn't seen here since their wedding a few years ago. I also got to meet their daughter Leica. I also had dinner with AJ and Tin, both of whom I was seeing for the first time since AJ's wedding a few months ago. I had lunch with Karen and Pia and I got to have a quick chat with Elle who was meeting with her friends for lunch in the same restaurant. I also had dinner with Zaza in Green Pastures, which was a good option since I had already been eating too much and too unhealthily this last month.

Finally, after Christmas, I met up with some friends in Eastwood Mall where we had dinner in Cyma. What's interesting is that in just a little more than a week, I ended up eating in Cyma twice (well, sort of). My dinner with AJ and Tin was in Souv in BGC, and when I got there, I realized it was Souv by Cyma. Somehow, I ended up ordering the same dish both times - Moussaka. However, in Cyma in Eastwood, I actually ordered Moussaka with a side of vegetarian moussaka. Talk about a moussaka overload LOL.

Moussaka from Cyma

Of course, there were a couple of office Christmas parties too. The first one was the full company Christmas party. Unfortunately, I was feelig a bit sick that night so I couldn't stay all the way through until the end. Too bad because we had an MTV-themed interdepartment contest and I wanted to see all the videos. The week after, we had our department Christmas party where I won a Cross pen during the raffle. Cool!

I did miss one get-together: a major reunion of my 2nd company. People from four decades showed up and I was really looking forward to it but I got really sick that day and I couldn't join. Too bad.

I gotta say that I feel quite tired from all the social gatherings this month. I'm even more tired from it than from work LOL. Still, it's a good kind of tired as I am tremendously thankful to have so many wonderful people in my life.

Fraser Place

I recently spent an evening playing games and hanging out with a few friends in Fraser Place in Makati.

We wanted a room that was spacious and comfortable. I stayed in a two-bedroom unit in Fraser Place about five years ago and I know that it was pretty big so I decided to book a 2BR suite here.

Once I got into the room, I was really happy because it was indeed quite expansive. There are three types of two bedroom apartments here and I can't quite recall which one we got; it may have been the two-bedroom premier. All 2BR units range from 135sqm to 155sqm. Cool. Naturally, the master bedroom was also very spacious...

...as was the master bathroom. There are two sinks, a bathtub, a closet, and a shower area.

The highlight of the bathroom for me was the full body shower system. I think this may have been the first time I ever used a full body shower system and it was very soothing and relaxing yet invigorating at the same time.

The second bedroom is not as big as master but it is still spacious enough and it also has its own bathroom.

The location of Fraser Place - it is in Salcedo Village in Makati - is very good. My friends and I decided to have dinner in Gino's Brick Oven Pizza and coffee and dessert in Cartel, all within walking distance of Fraser Place. The next day, we had lunch at Tai Koo which is just about a block away. Note that the apartment has a fully furnished kitchen where you can cook your own food but we preferred to just eat out.

Fraser Place is a really good option for booking rooms for small to medium-sized groups. It is in a great location and the rooms are very spacious, well-furnished, and very cozy. I will definitely stay here again, maybe for more board gaming nights in the future.

Fraser Place Manila
https://manila.frasershospitality.com/en
Forbes Tower, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City 1200 Philippines
Tel: +632 818 1818
Fax: +632 818 2000
Email: sales.manila@frasershospitality.com

My Reusable Food Containers

To reduce the waste I produce, I have started using reusable food containers when buying take-out. I realized one day that I was generating so much trash because most of the time, the places I buy food from pack my order in one-time-use containers that are either plastic or cardboard/paper-based. It was then that I decided to start using the reusable plastic containers that I got from previous take-out purchases. Whenever I would order dinner near my place of residence, I would ask the place I was buying food from if they could just pack my order into my reusable plastic containers.

sinigang and rice for dinner in my plastic containers

I was initially thinking of using these plastic containers for lunch as well because I always get my midday meals from the food court in our office building and they always pack my food in plastic bags or plastic boxes. However, I'm not a fan of washing plastic containers because it is quite difficult to get rid of the oil and grease so having to wash plastic containers for both lunch and dinner didn't quite appeal to me. Thus, I decided to buy a couple of glass containers. Glass is so much easier to clean than plastic when it comes to oil and grease. I have now been using these reusable glass containers for all my meals - lunch and dinner.

Bicol Express, string beans, and rice for lunch in my glass container

What's really cool is that many restaurants in my area agree to pack my take-out order in my reusable containers. The vendors at the food court in my office building also know me already and they are very used to serving my lunch order this way. Because of this, I have greatly reduced the waste that I generate. While there is still a lot more I can do to reduce my carbon footprint, I am quite happy that over the years, I have been able to take small steps in the right direction.

Petron are PSL All-Filipino Champions again

Congratulations to the Petron Blaze Spikers for winning the 2018 Philippine Superliga (PSL) All-Filipino title!

PSL AFC Back to Back Champions! PETRON BLAZE SPIKERS @ChooksToGoPH @Petron_Corp #PSLCoronationNight #PSLAFC #PSLCGS #PSLonEPSN5 pic.twitter.com/mDIDoOBRcJ

— Philippine SuperLiga Volleyball (@SuperLigaPH) December 20, 2018

Petron managed to defend the All-Filipino title which they won last year. Both times, they beat their chief rival, F2 Logistics. Petron were close to achieving an undefeated season, winning all their matches during the elimination round as well as their semifinal against Cignal and the first game in their best-of-three final against F2 Logistics. F2 of course would not go down without a fight, coming back strong after dropping the first set to beat Petron in 4 sets to force Game 3. In the end, Petron managed to win three very tights in Game 3 to take home the title.

What's interesting is that Petron and F2 have clearly ascended to the top of the PSL, splitting the last 5 trophies between them. The other teams are starting to find their groove though, especially Generika Ayala Life Savers who put up a brave campaign and finished third in the league, with three of their players receiving individual awards. I am very interested to see what happens in the next conference.

Wedding Ninong Again

I am now officially a two-time wedding ninong. My ex-teammate Marge got married to her now-husband JB earlier this month and she asked me to be one of her principal sponsors. I was honored to have been asked to be her wedding ninong.

The ceremony was held at the Nuestra Senora de Gracia Church in the Guadalupe area. Guests were asked to refrain from taking photos during the wedding; I think there is an ongoing movement now where guests are asked not to take photos since the attempt of guests to take good shots sometimes (or maybe often) prevents the official photographers from taking photos from the best possible angles. While I did avoid taking photos for the most part, I did take one during the ceremony. I took this next photo right after the bridal march and before the priest began speaking. Since I was seated at the aisle in the second row, I had a pretty good view and I managed to take this shot without obstructing the view of the official photographers.

The reception was held a short distance away, at The Loft in Manansala in Rockwell. The program included some heartwarming speeches from Marge's dad, JB's dad and family, and from one of the principal sponsors. There were also a couple of performances. After entering the reception area, the secondary sponsors danced and JB also had a dance medley number with the male members of the entourage. I do have to say that the hands-down best performance came from Marge, who serenaded JB with a love song that she sang very beautifully.

The wedding had an official hashtag and I decided to take and share some photos so that Marge and JB could look back at some of the photos that their guests took. As it turned out, I ended up getting a special award for the best photo uploaded using the official wedding hashtag. I managed to capture a wonderful moment between Marge and JB during their first dance and it was deemed the winner. Cool!

my winning photo

Another good thing about this wedding was that I also has an opportunity to catch up with a few of our other ex-colleagues. I also hadn't seen Marge since she left our previous company so it was nice getting to see her again.

Congratulations and Best Wishes, Marge and JB!

Of Drained Car Batteries and Ride Sharing Challenges

I was on my way to a board game night and I was picking up a cake at Kitchen's Best in Pasong Tamo Extension when I realized my car wouldn't start.  I figured the battery must have been dead. To make matters worse, my phone was almost dead. Thankfully, I was parked in a relatively convenient area where I could wait and my friend Jovan was with me. She helped me call Motolite via their hotline +632 350 6686. While I never had challenges with Motolite in the past since they would deliver my battery quite quickly, often within 30-45 minutes, I did have a bit of a challenge this time around since it took about an hour and a half for their service personnel to reach us. Which is very surprising since there is a Motolite along Pasong Tamo. The guy said he saw someone in distress on the road and decided to help which is why he ended up being pretty late. In any case, my car trouble was resolved and my car was able to run smoothly after.

Shortly after that, I needed to attend an event in Makati while coming from Ortigas. I didn't have my car with me that day due to color coding so I tried getting a ride via Grab. Unfortunately, I couldn't book a Grab Car. I had about 1 1/2 hours until my event so I figured I could try Grab Share instead since I still had time and Ortigas wasn't that far from Makati. Thankfully, I was able to book a Grab Share quite quickly. The problem is that the person who was in the same ride with me was heading to Bonifacio Global City. While I understand that Makati isn't that far from BGC distance-wise, the traffic during rush hour is really bad. In the end, I was in transit for almost 2 hours and I ended up being late for the event. Thankfully, it didn't start on time. I really don't know what the Grab Share algorithm is and how they put passengers together but based on that experience, I might not try it again unless I am absolutely desperate and there is no other option.

Reading Glasses

While playing board games last year (or maybe even the year before), I realized that I was having a lot of difficulty reading the fine print on cards, especially when the lighting wasn't very good. In fact, sometimes I would have too much difficulty that I would use my phone camera to zoom in on what I wanted to read. I noticed this same problem sometimes in restaurants while checking out the menu. I didn't have trouble reading words or focusing on objects from a distance. I figured at this point that I might need reading glasses.

It took a while, though, before I finally went to an ophthalmologist to have my eyes checked. I told them that I think I need reading glasses. They had me read some very fine print - I couldn't - before asking me to re-read but this time with lenses. For the first time in a while, I got to see the fine print with amazing clarity. I was given a prescription for reading glasses which I kept with me but I never really got around to buying. That is, until recently. Since the year is almost over, my annual medical benefit was about to expire so I decided to get my prescription reading glasses while I could still reimburse them.

Here is my new look (at least while reading LOL).

I tried several frames and I realized that the glasses that I think look best on me are not as narrow as this. However, I was told that reading glasses need to be thin, and in fact they should be even thinner than the ones I now have. However, I couldn't find any frame I liked that was more narrow so I settled for this for now. Hopefully I won't need to get a higher grade any time soon.

Internet Woes

I switched internet providers this month. I originally had Bayan DSL, which I got almost a decade ago because it was the only internet provider at the time that you could get without needing a landline. My internet provider officially became Globe when Globe bought Bayantel about three years ago. I have now terminated my Globe/Bayan internet and I switched to Sky Broadband.

So why the switch? It all started early last month when my internet stopped working on a Monday morning. When I got home after work, it was still not working so I called Globe to report the problem. They told me they would have someone visit me on Saturday to check my router. When the guy arrived, he told me that there was a problem with the Bayan data cabinet and all other Bayan subscribers in my area had the same problem. They said that work was already being done to restore my internet service.

A few days later, I still didn't have internet at home. This time, I messaged Globe Telecom on messenger. I was told that the restoration of my service may take some time because of the need to provide extended cables from the cabinet to my area. After a couple of days, my internet was still down so I call Globe this time and ask when my service will be restored. They still couldn't give me a target date.

It was at this point that I realized that the problem may have been because Globe was switching all their subscribers who were still on the Bayan circuit to the Globe circuit. I guess I can understand why they were doing this but (1) why would this migration result in a few weeks of downtime and (2) why did they not inform me of this earlier on?

After 18 days of waiting and having no internet, I decide to finally terminate my Globe/Bayan internet account. The hassle I have to face now is falling in line at a Globe Center to make my final payment since I can't pay online anymore since my account has been terminated.

So why did I switch to Sky Broadband? I was actually initially leaning towards Converge because I have friends who use it and say their internet is very fast. However, when I called Converge, they said my area wasn't covered yet. I didn't want to switch to Smart/PLDT because I keep reading about horror stories that people have with the Smart/PLDT service. I went with Sky Broadband because I have Skycable at home and I knew it would be simple enough to set-up Sky Broadband if you already have Sky Cable. My family also use Sky Broadband and they so far haven't had too many bad experiences with their internet service.

Hopefully, my internet stays okay and I don't run into any problems with it, at least not in the near future.

Kababata by Kritiko featuring Kyla

Last November 10, I saw the finals of Himig Handog on ASAP on TV. While this contest featured a lot of good music, there was one song that stood out for me: Kababata by Kritiko featuring Kyla (Kritiko wrote the song and also performs the rap parts). The live performance was so powerful that Ogie Alcasid and another judge - I think it was Erik Santos - gave Kritiko and Kyla a standing ovation after. I was so blown away by it that I immediately wanted to see it again. Here it is:


video uploaded by ABS-CBN Star Music

I couldn't immediately find this performance on youtube (it was uploaded the next day) but my search online brought me to the live performance with Angeline Quinto during the pre-finals. Kyla was unable to sing so Angeline subbed for her. What I loved about this was that the song was performed fully, as opposed to the shortened version during the finals. This allowed me to understand and appreciate it a lot more than I already did. I was clearly not the only one moved by it, as judge Yeng Constantino was in tears (you can see her reaction at the 4:55 to 5:02 mark of this next vid). Check out the pre-finals performance here:


video uploaded by ABS-CBN Star Music

This song for me is truly amazing. It is so well-written, with the lyrics projecting such vivid imagery that you feel emotionally invested in the story. The first half of the song is more nostalgic and wistful, about two people who were 'magkababata' or who grew up together. The singer shares a longing for that time when life was simpler and they were still together and how, at that time, they had dreams and plans. However, the second half is a lot more intense and painful: he returns to meet the girl as promised, but as it turns out, he only sees her ghost because she was raped and murdered. You don't hear songs with stories like this everyday.

My great interest in this song brought me to this video of Kritiko explaining how he came up with the story. Apparently, he had finished recording the song when he saw rape victims on the news. He then got inspired to revise the song he finished to change the ending. Here is the video of Kritiko talking about his inspiration for the song.


video uploaded by LionhearTV

Kababata ended up only in third place in Himig Handog and I immediately felt that it was robbed. This song was so revolutionary, so powerful, so well-written, and so well-performed that I strongly believed it should have won first place. As it turns out, I'm not the only one who thinks so. If you scroll through the comments in these videos I shared, you will see so many people saying they felt this should have won and that they were so moved and even brought to tears by it. I also feel that Kritiko should have won the One Music Philippines Favorite Interpreter Choice Award. While Sam Mangubat was indeed very expressive and moving in his rendition of Wala Kang Alam, I just felt Kritiko was better. You could really feel Kritiko's pain, grief, guilt, and anger as he took you on a truly emotional journey. (That said, maybe this award was given based on the recorded version and not the live performance.) The repeated line "Bakit nila sa yo 'to nagawa?!" (why did they do this to you? or how could they have done this to you?) gives me goosebumps each time. I've watched many times and I am still moved. Here's the offivial music video.


video uploaded by ABS-CBN Star Music

There were a lot of great songs released all over the world this year but this may actually be my favorite. I truly wish Kritiko greater success and that he continues to write great songs.

A Couple of Weddings

The 'Ber months are usually the time of year when many people decide to get married. Over the last couple of months, I attended a couple of weddings, on opposite sides of Metro Manila.

I first attending the wedding of my good friend and ex-colleague, AJ and her now-husband Elmer. Her wedding was held in Palazzo Verde, previously Fernbrook Gardens, in Las Pinas. I hadn't met her husband, Elmer, prior to that event so it was really nice seeing the man with whom AJ will spend the rest of her life. It was also a reunion of sorts because dozens of my ex-colleagues were there, many of whom I hadn't seen in a while.

Apart from being able to celebrate with AJ on her special day and being able to catch up with several friends, another highlight was the special game that was conducted right before the reception. The host said that we would play a variation of "name that tune" game: music would be played and the first person who went up to the host, correctly guessed the title of the song, and danced to it, would enable his or her table to go to the buffet table first. Our table was a bit far so I was initially uncertain that I would get to compete for a spot. I somehow managed to do that on the third song - I managed to guess Gentleman by Psy and I naturally tried to dance the proper choreography of the song LOL. Because of this, our table ended up being third to get food, which was great because we were quite hungry by then. :)

The second wedding was of my cousin Twinkle who got married to Mike, whom she had been dating for a while already. The wedding was held at the Santuario de San Jose Parish in Greenhills and the reception was at Oasis Manila in Quezon City. Instructions were given to the guests not to take photos since it would obstruct the photographers from taking great shots but I did manage to take a photo of Twinkle as she entered the church because I was close to the back and wasn't near the aisle where the photographers were.

I'm happy that my grandmother was able to join us despite her difficulty in moving (she got injured earlier this year). Thankfully, we were the first table to get called to the buffet table so we were also the first to have our photo taken with the couple. This was one of the weddings where I didn't stay until the end of the program because my grandmother was tired so we had to bring her home shortly after dinner. Still, I'm happy that we got to join Twinkle on her special day.

I have a couple more weddings to attend in December and I'm looking forward to both of them.

Game Nights Galore

One of my interesting accomplishments recently has been reducing the number of games I own that I hadn't played yet. I had quite a few game nights over the last few months and I had a chance to play three games and one expansion I own that I hadn't played yet.

Khan of Khans

Khan of Khans

This was the first - and so far, only - game that I got via Kickstarter. (I can't say I backed it because by the time I supported it, it was already fully funded.) This is a quick, simple, and fun party game. The goal is to have the most cows at the end of the game. You draw cards that can give you cows or allow you to take cows from other players or lose your own cows. Each player also gets to choose one of many tribes, all of which have different powers that impact game play. Finally, there is that option of putting your cows in corrals, but you only have limited corrals and you don't want to do it too early lest you run out of corrals. I really enjoy this game and as party games go, this is one of the best ones. I like it better than Exploding Kittens because all players get to play until the very end (unlike Exploding Kittens where players are knocked out one by one).

Oceanos

Oceanos

This is another quick and easy game. The objective is to score the most points through deep sea exploration. The way to score points is by collecting different underwater creatures and treasure and by upgrading your submarine. The game play is relatively simple and you can finish a game in about 30 minutes. This game is ideal for newbies and casual gamers or those who like cute artwork.

Potion Explosion and the Fifth Ingredient Expansion

I had played Potion Explosion in the past but I hadn't played the game that I bought. I hadn't previously played the Fifth Ingredient expansion though. I got it thinking that it would add a fifth player to the game but it turns out that it just adds another marble - a wild card - to the equation. I like the additional elements from the expansion. After playing this game again, I realized that it does rely on luck - I won our second game because I kept getting lucky explosions, allowing me to complete a lot potions - but I did realize that I really like this game despite the potential for slight imbalances due to luck.

Of course, there were a lot more games that I got to play. It seems that detective games are quite popular now, as I got to play three games with this theme - P.I., Sherlock Holmes, and Detective. Sherlock Holmes and Detective are quite similar, and while they are interesting to play because of the dynamics, this isn't exactly my favorite type of game. I actually liked the simpler P.I. a lot more because this game is kind of like a more sophisticated and edgy Clue.

Other new games I got to try include: Pastiche which is kinda like Fresco in that you are trying to mix paints to allow you to complete paintings, Dice Forge which has some really awesome artwork and has a cool dice modifying mechanic, Clank in Space which is a variant of Clank!, Five Tribes which my friend calls super sungka because of how you move tokens around the board, Robinson Crusoe which is a coop game, and Lowlands which kind of has a worker placement and deck building mechanic.

Lowlands

I do have a couple of game nights in December so I'm looking forward to possibly playing one or more of my unplayed games.

Dangerous Drain Declogger

I had a drain declogger mishap recently. While washing dishes one night, I realized my kitchen sink was badly clogged. In the past, I used Mr. Muscle Drain Declogger but when I went to the supermarket, I couldn't find it. I decided to go to True Value to see if they had drain decloggers there. They didn't have Mr. Muscle but I saw one that seemed to be okay. I decided to get it and I immediately used it once I got home.

When I opened the cap, I noticed that there was a secondary cap to prevent the liquid from spilling. That in itself should have triggered a warning flag and I think it did because I made sure that I wouldn't touch any of the liquid with my bare hands. That said, even if I was already being cautious, I think that secondary cap very briefly and lightly touched the back of my middle finger as I set it aside. I actually didn't think that it touched me but I realized that it must have grazed my finger because as soon as I put that secondary cap down, my finger started to hurt badly. I then noticed that there was a slight frothing on it. I immediately placed my finger under running water and kept it there for a while. A couple of days later, my finger still looked pretty nasty:

It wasn't just my injured finger that got me concerned. As soon as I poured half of the contents of the bottle into my drain - as per instructions - smoke started to come out, as if something was burning. My Mr. Muscle Drain Declogger never generated this kind of chemical reaction. While the instructions indicated that you need to wait for about 5 minutes before letting water run into the sink, I was so concerned about the smoke that I turned on the tap maybe just a minute or less after pouring the liquid into the sink.

I reckon my drain declogger must have been a pretty potent sulfuric acid solution. I still have half a bottle at home but I don't want to use it again. Unfortunately, I don't know how to dispose of it properly; I surely don't want anyone else to come into contact with it. I think I will ask my chemist or scientist friends what I can do. If my drain does end up getting clogged again, I am surely staying away from this particular drain declogger.

A Little Night of Music

It all started with a social media post I wrote about going to a videoke place that had songs from The Greatest Showman. From there, I discovered that two of my friends - Marie and Ginia - were also friends. We decided that we should all go to a videoke place together. Then, more recently, a friend of mine told me that Rockstar, the videoke place in SM Aura, did feature some The Greatest Showman sings. Finally, I caught up with Marie and with Ginia on separate occasions recently. I told Ginia that we should push through with our plans. We finally agreed on a schedule that worked for all three of us.  As we got closer to our karaoke date, Ginia messaged us saying that a friend of hers who also happened to a friend of Marie's, was inviting her to a gig in Craft. We decided that we could spend about three hours at Rockstar before heading over to Craft.

This was the first time in almost two years that I visited a videoke place. Naturally, we sang songs from The Greatest Showman, including Rewrite the Stars, This is me, and Never Enough. However, I also tried a few other songs that I realized I want to include in my karaoke repertoire, such as Photograph and Perfect by Ed Sheeran and Stiches by Shawn Mendes. I also tried 7 Years by Lukas Graham. If you don't know this song very well, the phrasing and timing will be a bit challenging so I will make it a point to study this song so I can sing it more properly next time. Quite possibly the highlight of the evening were the two Miss Saigon duets that we performed. Marie and I sang The Last Night of the World and Ginia and I sang Sun and Moon. This was the first time that I sang Miss Saigon songs in a videoke bar and while I need to study the male part in The Last Night of the World, I thought we did a pretty decent job on both songs. Since we were in the Coldplay room, Marie said that I should sing at least one Coldplay song so I decided to go with Viva La Vida.

We had initially planned to stay there until 10pm only but we were so into it that we decided to extend one more hour. By 11pm, we headed over to Craft where Trinidad Band was playing. Ginia and Marie's friend was a sessionist who was subbing for one of the musicians that night. I hadn't heard of Trinidad Band before but the moment I heard them play, I was blown away. They had excellent musicianship and they played very well together. What's more, you could see from the way they played that music was in their veins.

I have to give special mention to their vocalist JJ Lacson. We only caught the last set but he rattled off some obscenely difficult songs such as Skid Row's I'll Remember You and Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses. Marie, Ginia, and I just kept looking at each other in sheer amazement. We called it a night at around 2AM and agreed that we should have more of these music nights.

Get-togethers

My college friend Maileen was in Manila to attend her grandmother's birthday and she did have a small window during which to meet up. Lala, Mitch, Anna and I were able to have brunch with her at Single Origin in Rockwell. That wasn't my only brunch in Rockwell. Another friend, Alvin, was also in Manila shortly after that and also happened to be free on a Saturday morning. He requested to meet up in Rockwell so Joyce, Elaine, and I joined him for brunch at Refinery.
I also got to spend quality time with my high school/college friends on two occasions. The first was in Shangri-la Mall. Mitch, Ferg, Joyce, Anna and I had dinner in Spatzle before moving to Planet Grapes for coffee, dessert, and wine. Then, more recently, we all visited Iona and JP at their new place in QC. I decided to bring the Sinful Chocolate Cake from A La Creme in Katipunan. I had seen this cake at a party before but didn't get to try. It is very good and very rich, which meant that most of us could only eat a small portion of it.

Sinful Chocolate Cake from A La Creme in Katipunan

I also got to hang out with a lot of my ex-colleagues. I joined my ex-teammates Migs, Diann, Jeoff, and Case and her daugher Kara for an afternoon and evening of food and gaming at Grid X Griddle Gastrolounge and Gaming. We played Ticket to Ride and a few rounds of Azul. It was during this time that I achieved my highest scored in Azul - 112! I could have ended the game but I saw that my friends weren't intending to end the game just yet so I avoided ending the game just to help increase my score further (it worked).

My highest Azul score ever - 112!

The managers from my previous group got together for dinner and drinks at Early Night? in BGC. It was here that we agreed on a schedule for our Christmas get-together. At around the same time, my circle of friends from my previous company met up a couple of times. First, I joined Raffa, Joh, Alvin, and Doray for dinner at Locavore. Many people were unavailable that night so we decided to meet up again, this time for lunch in XO46 in Estancia Mall when Pau arrived in Manila. Raffa, Joh, Me-Ann and I were able to join Pau for lunch. Joh and Raffa also brought their kids and Pau brought one of his three children.

I also had dinner with my friends from our Corporate Social Responsibility org. I suggested that we have dinner in Buca di Beppo in BGC. Doms, Zaza, Katco, Eric, Lou and I were all able to make it and it was great because I hadn't seen Katco, Eric, and Lou in a while. We moved to Gelatofix for dessert and coffee after where we enjoyed a lot of gelato. I also decided to try their gelato sushi. This was a really unique dessert but while it was good, I think I prefer normal gelato.

gelato sushi at Gelatofix

Finally, I'm really happy that in the last few months, I was able to meet up with some people I hadn't seen in ages. First: the Yaminoys. While I've met up with a few of them every now and then over the years, this was the first time in maybe a decade that we had a group of 8 people all together for dinner. Eliza, Meg, Marie, Beck, Yam, Lea, Belle, and I enjoyed a night of great food and great conversation and catching up in Cyma in Greenbelt. Second: my college reunion. The alumni association of my college organized a reunion of sorts and my batch decided to get a table. While I do get to see my batchmates on a regular basis, I rarely get to catch up with college friends from other batches. That is, until that night. There were a few dozen of us there and it turned out to be a wonderful reunion, made even more special by the good food and the wine. I also got to see a few of my college teachers. Cool!

Inflight Movies during my South America Trip

I guess this post is still related to my South America trip. I got to watch thirteen movies I hadn't seen before, most of which I got to view while on the intercontinental flights from Manila to Lima and back. Here's a list of all the movies I watched and some quick thoughts on each:

Ready Player One
This was my favorite of all the movies I saw. I was initially hesitant to watch it because many people said that there was a ton of 80s video game references with which I wouldn't be able to relate since I don't play video games. As it turns out, it wasn't a deal-breaker. This movie has a great story, incredible action, and fantastic effects and CGI. I liked it so much that I watched it a couple of times on the plane and I have since gotten the DVD (and watched it again a few more times).

Murder on the Orient Express
I love a good murder mystery. While it is near impossible to guess who did it in this film, I thought that the theme, the tone, the flow of this story, and even the cinematography were all a bit too somber. I'm guessing that was the intention of the creators of this film but it didn't quite appeal to me.

Rampage
This movie doesn't have much of a story and it does get a bit cliche but if you are a fan of giant mutated creatures battling each other (like me), then you will still find this quite enjoyable.

Geostorm
I thought this film would be like The Day After Tomorrow, with climate change-induced calamities causing global destruction. It was kind of like that and kind of not. In this movie, the human race was able to develop a satellite system that could control the weather across the globe. While this system is very useful in that it is able prevent the worst forms of natural disasters from causing massive damage, if the system goes haywire or falls under the control of the wrong people, the world could come to an end. Once again, I thought this movie was enjoyable enough.

Love, Simon
This might have been my second favorite among all the inflight movies I saw. It is about a closeted gay teenager who struggles with wanting to connect while not wanting to come out. This movie did a great job in showing why even today, many gay people still deal with a lot of adversity. It is a well-written, feel-good film that features a very talented cast, including Nick Robinson who did an amazing job in the title role.
 
Trolls
Trolls got a lot of really good buzz when it came out, specifically because of the pop music featured throughout the film. It was entertaining for the most part but I can't say I enjoyed it as much as most other people because I really disliked the lead character Poppy. It is her attitude and behavior that gets all the trolls in trouble so I am annoyed that her success in the end of the movie lends itself to the idea that her behavior and attitude were acceptable, if not necessary, and that she has nothing to be sorry about.

Final Recipe
This is possibly my third favorite film in this list. This is a South Korean-Thai film that features a cast from different Asian countries. It is honestly very cliche and predictable, with a few scenarios bordering on being unbelievable, but somehow I found it to be very moving and heartwarming, with a bittersweet end.

The 15:17 to Paris
The short description of this film made me interested in it but after about a quarter of the film had gone by, I found myself getting bored. I still wanted to see where it would go so I kept watching. Towards the end, I started to realize this may have been a true story so I looked it up when I got home and apparently, it was. What's even more amazing is that the three lead characters were played by themselves, meaning the three people who helped subdue a terrorist in real life played themselves in the movie. I think if I had known this before watching the film, I would have been more engaged.

Tower Heist
I was interested in this film when it came out but I never got around to watching it. The twist that comes early on, which shows the reason why the people decide to attempt this heist, is pretty interesting. This movie is not quite Ocean's Eleven but it is still fun.

The Grand Budapest Hotel
This film was nominated for Best Picture in 2014 so I had always been interested to see it. While I realize it is critically acclaimed, it seems I am not its target market as I didn't really like it. It is directed by Wes Anderson, who also directed The Royal Tenenbaums which I also didn't like. I guess Wes Anderson's style isn't quite what I am looking for when it comes to movies. (My friends who are huge fans of Wes will disown me if they read this LOL.)

The Adjustment Bureau
The premise of this movie is that there is some secret, supernatural organization that seems to control everyone's destiny and ensure that everything goes according to the grand plan. It's an interesting concept that sets the stage for some pretty exciting sequences.

Blade Runner 2049
I am not sure what it is about my current taste in movies but while this film was critically acclaimed, with some of my friends saying it was their favorite movie of 2017, I actually really didn't like it. I don't know if my lack of appreciation is because I didn't see the first Blade Runner that came out in 1982. I will say though that the cinematography in this film is absolutely stunning and its Oscar award for Best Cinematography is extremely well-deserved.

Klute
This was the film in which Jane Fonda won the first of her two Oscar Best Actress trophies. This suspense-thriller was released in 1971 and while the performances of Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland carried the film and made audiences feel the intensity of the story and the scenes, it didn't give me an edge-of-my-seat feeling. Maybe that's because it was the last movie I watched before arriving in Manila and by then I was so tired. Still, it was a good film and is worth watching.

My South America Trip Summary and Final Thoughts

Here is a summary of links to my South America trip blog posts:

My South America Bucket List
Peru:
- Machu Picchu (and getting there)
- Lima
- Sacred Valley: Chinchero and Ollantaytambo
- Cusco
Brazil:
- Rio de Janeiro
Brazil and Argentina:
- Iguassu/Iguazu Falls
Argentina:
- Buenos Aires
- El Calafate and Patagonia
- Perito Moreno Glacier

Restaurants and local cuisine: South American Food and Drinks, Casa Qorikancha in Cusco, Tunupa in Sacred Valley, Museo del Filete in Buenos Aires, Casimiro Bigua in El Calafate
Hotels: Inkaterra Hacienda Urumbamba in Sacred Valley, Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, Palacio del Inka in Cusco, Loi Suites Iguazu Hotel, Hotel Kosten Aike in El Calafate
Other thoughts and experiences: South American Wildlife, Prepping for our trip, Challenges, Going on a tour vs. Do-it-yourself, Summary and Final Thoughts

Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina

Here again is a recap of our itinerary:

Day 0: depart Manila
Day 1: arrive in Lima
Day 2: half-day tour of Lima
Day 3: flight to Cusco, check into Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba
Day 4: Sacred Valley tour, train to Machu Picchu
Day 5: Machu Picchu, train to Cusco
Day 6: free day in Cusco
Day 7: flight from Cusco to Lima
Day 8: flight from Lima to Rio de Janeiro
Day 9: full-day tour in Rio de Janeiro
Day 10: flight to Iguassu Falls, tour of Iguassu Falls (Brazil side)
Day 11: cross the border to Argentina, tour of Iguazu Falls (Argentina side)
Day 12: flight from Puerto Iguazu to Buenos Aires
Day 13: half-day tour of Buenos Aires, dinner and tango show
Day 14: flight from Buenos Aires to El Calafate
Day 15: Perito Moreno Glacier full-day tour
Day 16: flight from El Calafate to Buenos Aires
Day 17: flight from Buenos Aires to Lima, flight from Lima to Manila
Day 18: In transit
Day 19: arrive in Manila

Machu Picchu

While this was a pretty solid itinerary, if I could do it all over again, I would make a few changes. One of them would be to add an extra day in Rio de Janeiro. We were in Rio for about the same amount of time as we were in Lima and in Buenos Aires but in Rio, we didn't have as much free time to explore on our own. Our original itinerary actually included a free day in this Brazilian city because we were supposed to fly in on Day 7 but as it turned out, there were no direct flights on that day. There was an overnight flight that would leave Lima on the evening of Day 7 and arrive in Rio in the morning of Day 8 and that would have given us at least one free afternoon in Rio. However, that flight had two legs and there was only an hour to make the connecting flight. If the first leg was delayed, we would miss the second leg and that would ruin the rest of our trip. As such, we decided to just opt for the direct flight on Day 8 which left us with no free time in Rio.

View of Copa Cobana and the Cable Car system in Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro

A few other changes I would make to our itinerary:

1.  I would take an earlier flight from Cusco to Lima on Day 7, even if it costs more. Because our flight was in the evening, we ended up checking into our hotel in Lima at midnight but we had to check out at 5AM the next morning because our flight to Iguassu Falls was at 9:25AM. (We ended up having 2 hours of sleep that night.)

2. I would also request our travel agent to schedule our Dinner and Tango Show at La Ventana on the evening of our arrival in Buenos Aires (Day 12) instead of on Day 13. This is because the flight to El Calafate on Day 14 is at around 5AM. If we watch the dinner and tango show on Day 12, we will get to have a lot more sleep on the night of Day 13 before we fly to El Calafate. (I had two hours of sleep that night but my mom didn't sleep anymore.) If we had a bit more energy upon arrival in El Calafate, we might also have been able to book a tour of Patagonia in the afternoon of our arrival there.

3. Finally, on Day 16, I would book a room at the Holiday Inn Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport. I was trying to search for a hotel near the airport and the one I found was Howard Johnson Resort and Convention Center. Unfortunately, this hotel was in the middle of nowhere - no restaurants or shops nearby - and it was still about 20 minutes away from the airport. I was told that the Holiday Inn is the only hotel at the Ezeiza airport. It might be more convenient for us to have just stayed there.

Caminito Street in La Boca in Buenos Aires

Some other thoughts and memories. Traffic was quite heavy on our way to the Lima airport for our flight to Cusco. The rest of the folks in the tour were shocked by the traffic and my mom and I were thinking that the traffic there, while heavy, was definitely not as bad as the traffic we are used to in Manila.

Plaza de Armas in Lima

You may want to try to get a window seat when you fly from Lima to Cusco because you get some pretty nice views of the Peruvian mountains. (I think the views might be better on the right side of plane, but I'm not 100% sure.)

view of Peruvian mountains from the plane

If you are flying LATAM, download the LATAM Play app and bring your own earphones. Most of our LATAM flights didn't have TV screens. Instead, passengers can connect their phones - which have to be on airplane mode - to the LATAM WiFi network then launch the LATAM play app. From there, you can get access to the LATAM online entertainment system. (You will of course need your own earphones for this.) Bringing your own earphones is always good because even in our KLM flights, the headset provided by the airline had subpar quality and it was difficult to hear the movie dialogues. While I did have earphones, I would often lend them to my mom so that she could have a better audio experience.

Iguassu Falls (Brazil side)

I also used Smart Travel WiFi because I wanted my mom and I to be able to go online without having to pay extremely high data roaming rates. I decided to take this option rather than getting a local SIM in each country I visited because our itinerary was so jam-packed that there wouldn't have been a lot of time to get and activate a local SIM. Our Smart Travel WiFi signal was decent to pretty good in most of the places we visited.

Sacsayhuaman in Cusco

This was my first international trip where I used Google Maps to figure out how to get around instead of relying on a travel book such as Lonely Planet or Rough Guides. Not having a book also meant that there would be just a bit less weight in our luggage, which was a big deal considering our itinerary. Google Maps was especially helpful for getting local currency. The exchange rate at airports and hotels is pretty bad so whenever we were in the city center, I would search for money exchange locations on Google Maps that were within walking distance and the exchange rate was always much better.

Libreria del Colegio in Buenos Aires

Be ready to deal with altitude sickness when you travel to Machu Picchu, Cusco, and Sacred Valley. I'm very thankful that the most my mom and I experienced was some shortness of breath and maybe a bit of a headache.

Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús or Church of the Society of Jesus in Cusco

One of the places I wanted to visit was Rainbow Mountain, which we could have seen during our free day in Cusco. However, we decided against it because a trip here requires a very, very early rise, since most tours to Rainbow Mountain depart Cusco at around 4AM. More than that, my research indicated that getting to Rainbow Mountain requires you to walk about 11 kilometers and that the elevation will gradually go up from about 10,000 feet above sea level to 15,000 feet. I felt that this would be a bit too difficult and exhausting for us so we decided to skip it. It is possible to book a private tour that will cost a lot more but will depart at a later time (around 6AM), making it a bit more manageable. If you are going to Cusco and have the time and energy, you may want to include Rainbow Mountain in your itinerary.

Temple hill in Ollantaytambo

One new experience I had during this trip was that I was the first person to arrive at a hotel breakfast. This happened in Loi Suites. I thought that breakfast would be served at 6AM and I wanted to be there the moment it opened so that I could finish by 6:30. I could take a taxi to the city center, visit the Triple Frontier Landmark and then exchange money at the city center (I was told the money exchange there opens at 7:30AM). As it turned out, breakfast was only served at 6:30AM. In the end, I decided to scrap my plans to go to the city center not only because my morning schedule was thrown off by half an hour but also because I felt it was too risky time-wise. I could get stuck somewhere which could then make me late for our airport pick-up and we could end up being late for our flight.

Walkways linking the different buildings in Loi Suites Iguazu Hotel

One interesting thing in El Calafate was the number of big, free-roaming "gangsta" dogs. By big, I mean the size of a Labrador or a German Shepherd. And I call them "gangsta" because every time a car passes by, these big dogs start barking and running after them as if they owned the streets. It gets a bit freaky if they run right past you while chasing a car because it looks like they are about to jump right at you. Thankfully, they never did.

Mini-trekking in Perito Moreno Glacier

I'm also happy that my mom and I were able to attend Sunday mass twice during our trip. We were able to hear mass in Lima at Capilla Jesus Hostia which was right in front of our hotel...

Capilla Jesus Hostia, where we heard mass while in Lima

..and in Paroquia Nossa Senhora de Copacobana in Rio de Janeiro which was about a block away from our hotel. (Side note: the singers at this church were incredibly good!)

Paroquia Nossa Senhora de Copacobana in Rio de Janeiro

I am still amazed that I was able to go on this South America trip of a lifetime with my mom. It took a lot of planning, effort, and resources to make it happen and we faced a lot of challenges but it was absolutely worth it. Not only did this trip allow me to see places that I have been wanting to see for a long time, it also allowed me to discover new, amazing places and things that I didn't know about before. I am extremely humbled that I was able to have this experience and I will remember and cherish this for the rest of my life.

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro