Remembering: Pope St. John Paul II in Vatican City

With Pope Francis' recent visit to the Philippines, I started thinking about the two times I saw Pope St. John Paul II. The first time I saw him was in 1995 when he visited Manila for World Youth Day. He was in his Pope mobile and I was probably about 50 feet away as he passed by. The second time I saw him was in St. Peter's Square in Vatican on Christmas Day where we heard him say his Christmas message to the world. This time around, I was much closer.

This encounter happened by chance. I was assigned in Europe for a short-term project over the winter months many years ago and instead of heading home for Christmas, I decided to bring my mom to Europe instead. My mom had never been to Rome so I made it part of our itinerary and we decided to spend Christmas in Vatican City.

When we got to the Vatican, we entered St. Peter's Basilica hoping to hear Christmas mass there. There didn't seem to be one, at least not at the time that we were there. We spent some time inside the church praying, marveling at the amazing architecture and art inside, and taking photos before stepping out. As we did, we saw a massive crowd gathered outside.

We figured there must be something going on in St. Peter's Square that afternoon so we decided to stick around. There was some kind of stage right outside the door of St. Peter's Basilica and we positioned ourselves at the side of this area. Shortly after, a parade started.

I took a video of it but this was 2002 and my digital camera at the time was only 3.3 megapixels with a capability to take only up to 15-second videos so you have to forgive this for being grainy and very short. :)

Pope St. John Paul II then came out, much to the surprise and amazement of me and my mom. Neither of us were expecting to see the Pope during this trip. It turned out that this was the Pope's Christmas message, where he says "Merry Christmas" in about 60 or so languages. I remember seeing this on TV before so to be physically there was almost surreal. I honestly can't remember how the Pope said Merry Christmas in Filipino - I'm guessing "Maligayang Pasko" - but as he did, both my mom and I cheered loudly. :)

After his Christmas message, Pope St. John Paul II boarded his Pope mobile which actually passed right in front of us!

It was a truly amazing experience to celebrate Christmas day in Vatican City and to see Pope St. John Paul II while we were there.

Thank you, Pope Francis!

After his five day trip to the Philippines, Pope Francis finally bid farewell to the Filipino faithful earlier today.

Sa aking mga kaibigan sa Sri Lanka at Pilipinas: Naway pagpalain kayo ng Diyos. Sana´y patuloy niyo akong ipagdasal.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) January 19, 2015

Follow Pope Francis on twitter.

Things didn't go perfectly throughout the Papal visit, though. Typhoon Amang (international name Mekkhala) threatened to cancel the Tacloban leg of the Pope's trip. To minimize the impact of the storm, the Pope's visit to Tacloban was shortened by a few hours to make sure he would be back in Manila when the winds are at their strongest. It was amazing to see the crowds in yellow raincoats brave the inclement weather just to see the Pope and hear him celebrate mass at the Tacloban airport. As expected, the Pope delivered an emotional homily, with many people in crowd in tears as they remembered what they lost during Typhoon Yolanda.

Sunday was the Pope's last full day in Manila. He spent the morning in UST where he met with leaders of various religions and with the youth. Later that day, he made his way to Quirino Grandstand for his concluding mass. To pay homage to the Philippines, the Popemobile he used was an upgraded jeepney. Cool!

photo courtesy of Erik De Castro/ Reuters from https://ph.news.yahoo.com

As estimated 6 million people were at the Rizal Park complex for the concluding mass. This set a new record for a papal gathering, surpassing the 5 million attendees during the mass held by Pope John Paul II also in Rizal Park back in 1995.
 
As everyone is still in a state of euphoria, I am hopeful that people will take to heart the messages that Pope Francis shared with us these last few days. The theme of this visit was "Mercy and Compassion" and throughout his visit, he continued to ask Filipinos to do what they can to help the poor and not simply by just giving alms. He has asked us to fight against corruption at all levels. And he has reminded us to learn how to weep as this will help us understand our less-fortunate brothers and sisters more and be motivated to do something for them. Hopefully, this record-setting Papal visit will have longer term effects and the words of Pope Francis can spur more people into positive action or trigger a spiritual revival.

Post-Christmas reunions

January is a time for catching up, mainly because a lot of friends who live abroad are still in town and also because December is incredibly busy and finding a common time to meet up during the Christmas season is tough. My first post-Christmas reunion was with my ex-teammates at work. Our friend Reg was in town so we made sure we could catch up with her while she was still here. We ended up having dinner near the office since a lot of us still had to return to work after dinner.

The next day, I had dinner with my college batchmates since our friends Weng and Bong were in town. I was incredibly busy that night with a few issues popping up at the last minute but I hadn't seen Bong and Weng in ages so I made sure I would still catch up, albeit very late. Our dinner was in Va Bene in Bonifacio High Street (this is their second branch; the original is in the Petron station at the corner of EDSA and Pasay Road). I had never been to Va Bene before and I thought food here was pretty good. The restaurant closed at 10pm so we walked over to the nearby Starbucks to have some coffee before calling it a night.

Finally, I got to meet up with Jesse and our other friends during the first day of the long weekend. The plan was for us to meet up in Wicked by Cravings in Shangri-La mall. I got there a bit earlier than everyone else and since I hadn't had lunch yet, I decided to eat in Kettle which is right next to Wicked. That way, I could easily see if anyone else arrives. This was my first time in both Kettle and Wicked and both were quite good. I especially loved the Mallows and Pecan bark at Wicked. By 7pm Jesse had to leave to meet up with her family but the rest of us had dinner in Cyma.

I was supposed to catch up with a couple more sets of friends this long weekend but unfortunately, I woke up on Saturday with terrible stomach problems and had to reschedule them. Darn. I'm just hoping that this isn't similar to the really bad problems I had almost 2 years ago (I don't think it is since I have been getting a bit hungry today already).

Nomination #19

The Oscar nominations were just released and guess what? The Marvelous Meryl Streep adds to a record she has had for many years already by notching her 19th acting nomination. This time, it's for best supporting actress for her portrayal of the Witch in the film adaptation of Steven Sondheim's Into the Woods.

Into the Woods was released in the US over Christmas but it won't be released in cinemas here in Manila until the end of January. I checked out a couple of Meryl's recordings on youtube and they are amazing! We all know she can sing but there are things she does with her voice here that I didn't know she could do. Awesome!

Check out "Stay with me", one of the songs in the soundtrack. You can feel her emotion as she sings this even if you don't see her face so I can only imagine what it will be like when I see her on the big screen.


video uploaded in youtube by DisneyMusicVEVO

Just a few months ago, she also added to her Golden Globe nomination record. Incredible! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this movie when it comes out.

Welcome to the Philippines, Pope Francis!

Viva il Papa!

Pope Francis I arrived in Manila yesterday at around 5:30 PM. The main purpose of this visit is for the Pope to visit the communities devastated by Typhoon Yolanda. While most of his time will be spent in Metro Manila, he will also be going to Visayas to inaugurate the Pope Francis Center for the Poor. This facility in Leyte which is funded by the Vatican will have a chapel, a clinic, an orphanage, and a home for the elderly. As the official website of the Philippine Papal Visit states, the Pope brings with him the message of the mercy and compassion of God.

photo courtesy of Paul Barker/REUTERS, link from ph.news.yahoo.com

It's amazing to see the throngs of people lined up at the sides of the roads or outside SM MOA Arena just to catch a glimpse of the Pope as he waves at them through the Popemobile. The excitement of the crowds can be felt even through the TV screen and it's incredible to hear their unbridled cheers as they see the Pope. People have been interviewed saying that the exhaustion and the waiting time is all worth it and I can just imagine what the energy must feel like when you are amidst the crowds.

Earlier today, the Pope celebrated a mass at the Manila Cathedral. I'm watching the live coverage of the Papal Visit and the Pope is now at the SM MOA Arena to meet with poor families, families of OFWs, and families of people with disabilities. You can check out the full itinerary in Rappler as well as at the official website of the Papal Visit (although there must be millions of people checking this site out as it has failed to load a few times today because it has exceeded bandwidth limitations!)

Some other noteworthy moments so far in the Papal Visit so far:

• About 300 urban poor were given VIP seats at the MOA Arena so they could face the Pope directly.
• In his speech at the Malacanang earlier today, the Pope urged the Philippine government to fight against corruption. He asked Philippine political leaders to be "outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good" to addres the "glaring and indeed scandalous social inequalities".
• He also took time outside his official itinerary to visit a home for street children run by the Anak-TNK Foundation.

Il Papa sorride e parla spagnolo ed è felice #PapaFilippine pic.twitter.com/Zs1DlLu99S
— Antonio Spadaro SJ (@antoniospadaro) January 16, 2015

As goosebump-inducing as this visit has been so far, I am sure things will be even more emotional and spiritual as the Pope arrives in Leyte tomorrow where he will celebrate a mass, meet with some survivors of Yolanda, and inaugurate the Pope Francis Center for the Poor.

Read more about the Papal Visit here.
Check out the latest news on the Papal Visit in this link (ph.news.yahoo.com).
Follow Pope Francis on twitter.

Errand Day

I decided to use the early part of the day today to work on some errands. Mainly, real estate property tax payment and pick-up of my driver's license. No, my license didn't get confiscated. When I went to LTO to have my license renewed late last year, they already ran out of license cards supply so I was told I had to go back in January to get it.

I decided to pick my license up first since I knew that would be relatively quick (it was). However, once I arrived at City Hall, I realized I should have gone there first because the line was unbelievably long but they were using a number queuing system which meant you didn't need to be there all the time. When I got my number, I realized there were still 245 people ahead of me. Yikes! I was told that they were processing on average about 100 people per hour which meant I would have to wait 2 1/2 hours for my turn. This was the first time I had to wait that long to pay real estate property tax. Thankfully, because of the numbering system, I was able to leave City Hall, have a relaxed lunch and coffee, pay our cable TV bill at the nearby BDO, then return to City Hall without losing my spot in the queue.

Unfortunately, as I was heading home, I got caught in horrible traffic. Thankfully, I was just commuting and not driving. My jeepney barely moved in ten minutes so I decided to get out and start walking home. My initial plan was to head to the bottleneck of the traffic then get on another jeepney that had already made it past the bottleneck. However, as I kept on walking, I realized the traffic had practically ground to a halt. Wow. What was causing this traffic? Anyway, I was thankful that (1) I had gotten out of my jeepney and (2) I was only about 1 1/2 kilometers away from my house. Unfortunately, as I was walking home, I didn't notice a slightly elevated section of the sidewalk and as I stepped on it, I rolled my ankle. Damn! Once I got home, I iced my ankle and so far it seems okay but it is already feeling sore. I am just hoping my ankle doesn't swell tonight and that it doesn't end up becoming a full sprain tomorrow.

Afternoon coffee at Paul

I'm a big fan of European breads and pastries so when I had an opportunity to try Paul Boulangerie Patisserie during the Christmas break, I took it. It's on the expensive side but I thought I deserved a bit of a break. :)

When I got there, I was faced with the dilemma of what to order as there were so many interesting and very tempting items on display. I finally opted for the Millefeuille Fraises (P170), which is made of alternating layers of puff pastry and crème pâtissière (pastry cream) and served with fresh strawberries.

Gotta say, I'm glad I tried this because I absolutely love it! The pastry cream was delectable and there was a generous amount of fresh strawberry slices mixed in with it that just made the pastry much better. The coffee was also very good. This was a very satisfying afternoon snack at Paul. I'm pretty sure I'll be visiting this place again so I can also try their other pastries.

"Cat Mario" (Shobon Action)

I saw this video of someone playing what he called "Cat Mario" because it resembles Super Mario but it has a cat as the main character. The title of the video is "World's Hardest Mario Game" and after watching it, I can understand why. :)  My favorite moments are 0:52, 1:04, 1:48, 1:54, 2:37, and the last ten seconds. :)

Parental Advisory: some explicit language is used in this video.


video uploaded by B Brian

Apparently, this game is called Shobon Action and while it may seem absolutely ridiculous and frustrating to play, it has gotten generally positive reviews. To quote its wikipedia page, "it was recognized as a game that "systematically disrupts every convention of 2D platform gameplay" and that success in the game often relies on both trial-and-error-like strategies and the player's ability to use counterintuitive strategies to avoid obstacles."

UAAP Women's Volleyball season 77

The Women's Volleyball tournament of the UAAP season 77 started last November and the first round was completed earlier today in incredible fashion: last year's finalists Ateneo and La Salle squared off in the last game of the first round and played a nailbiting five-set match. True to form, defending champion Ateneo edged La Salle to sweep the first round.

The story of the season, however, has been the amazing improvement of UP. For the first time since I started watching the televised games, UP managed to win three games during the season. In the last two years, they ended with only two wins for the entire season and they have now exceeded that in just the first round. More than that, they are in a three-way tie for 4th, with FEU and Adamson sharing a 3-4 win-loss standing. In fact, UP, FEU, Adamson, NU (at 4-3) and even UST (at 2-5) all have the ability of beating each other this season as can be seen in the results: UP beat UST, UST beat Adamson, Adamson beat FEU, FEU beat NU, and NU beat UP. Those five teams have all to play for in the second round and it will be immensely interesting to see which teams will eventually move into the final four.

The only trouble for UP now is that one of their star players, Kathy Bersola, who was last season's best blocker, suffered an ACL injury in UP's last match, an extremely difficult win over Adamson in four sets. (The scores in the last two sets were an unbelievable 29-27 and 34-32!) Kathy is now out for the season but hopefully someone else in the team can step up. It would be absolutely awesome if UP can make it to the final four. And given how challenging it is for athletes to get back from ACL injuries, I just hope Kathy Bersola recovers quickly and gets back to full, or close to full, health.

Tagaytay Trip year 3: Morielli's

The second new restaurant I got to try in Tagaytay during my last trip was Morielli's. I saw on tripadvisor that it was rated quite highly (as of this writing, it is ranked #2 among Tagaytay restaurants) so I decided to try it out for myself.

The restaurant serves primarily Filipino cuisine, including local classics such as sinigang, kare-kare, and even dinuguan and puto. Before looking at the menu online though, I actually thought it was an Italian restaurant because of its name. As it turns out, the name "Morielli's" comes from combining the names of the parents of the owners: Moriet and Gely.

As is my Tagaytay food trip tradition, I ordered a few items on the menu. The Sisig Quesadilla (P180) was a pretty cool fusion of Pinoy and Mexican food. The sisig was well-cooked and tasty and it worked really well with the grilled tortilla.

For my main course, I got the Lechon ala Morielli's (P240). It comes in three sizes, I think I got the small or medium portion (can't recall anymore LOL). This was a real winner. The meat was tender and delicious and the skin was perfectly crispy and crunchy. It actually looks (and tastes) more like bagnet or lechon kawali than traditional lechon.

I also ordered a bowl of Chicken Sopas (P98). It is listed under the "Comfort Food" section of their menu. This dish was relatively straightforward, nothing spectacular or flashy about it but it does taste like the chicken sopas I used to enjoy as a kid. I would probably have enjoyed it a tad more if it wasn't so extraordinarily hot the day I was there. :)

After my dining experience here, I can say that Morielli's did live up to the hype. While the interior is relatively simple, like an upscale canteen, the food is really good and the prices are quite affordable. It is also easy to find; it is right along the Tagaytay-Calamba road just a short distance from the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road. Reservations are recommended as this place does get full. (There's an online reservation app on their website but you can also call to book a table.) I would definitely recommend a visit to Morielli's.

Morielli's
Tagaytay- Calamba Rd. cor St. Francis Drive
Tagaytay City, Philippines
Globe/Viber: 0917 596 4400
Globe: 0915 322 3590
Smart: 0999 348 8048
Email: moriellisbnb@gmail.com
Restaurant hours: 7:30 AM to 10 PM

How to get there
Coming from Sta. Rosa, on the fork of the road, please turn left. After you pass a waiting shed, you will see St. Francis Drive's street marker. Morielli's is just behind it. Click here for directions.

Tagaytay Trip year 3: Amoroma Ristorante Italiano

I tried two new restaurants during my last trip to Tagaytay. The first was Amoroma Ristorante Italiano. This restaurant is just along the Tagaytay-Calamba road and it is very close to the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road. It has a very traditional Italian interior, with its warm and cozy colors and its checkered tablecloths.

Instead of getting an appetizer and a main dish, I decided to instead order one of their pasta dishes and one of their pizzas. For my pasta, I got the Gnocchi Sorpresa (P295).

Gnocchi are light and fluffy pasta dumplings made from potatoes. You choose one of four sauces for this dish. I selected the Gorgonzola sauce (the other options are Alfredo, Pomodoro, and Basilo). I'm a big fan of gnocchi and I really enjoyed this dish. It's also pretty decently priced considering that gnocchi dishes in other Italian restaurants in Manila are in the P350-450 range.

For my pizza, I ordered the Salsiccia e Cipolle Rosse (P340). This is a 13" thin crust Pizza served with Italian sausage and Red Onion.

The pizzas in Amoroma are baked in a brick oven which I think makes them taste better. The pizza was, for the most part, really good. The only downside for me was the red onion. While it did clearly state in menu that the pizza is served with red onions, I didn't realize how overpowering they would be. I ended up picking off most of them (and as you can see in the photo above, there were quite a lot). I wanted to save room for dessert so I ate only half of the pizza at the restaurant and I took the rest back to the hotel for a midnight snack later that night. :)

To cap off my evening, I ordered their Tiramisu (P185) and paired it with Cafè Americano (P75). Both the dessert and the coffee were pretty good. I was pretty happy with my overall dining experience here.

Amoroma Ristorante Italiano is pretty easy to find and while there are only a few parking slots out front, there are a whole lot more parking slots at the back. There's a pretty interesting nod to The Creation of Adam from the Sistine Chapel that is similarly painted on a ceiling, in this case, that of the staircase at the back of the restaurant. :)

Amoroma Ristorante Italiano
Tagaytay-Calamba Road, Barangay Tolentino East,
National Highway, Tagaytay City of Cavite
For Reservations/Booking: 0929.2690370, 0916.3829883
(Note: they don't accept email reservations)
Click here for link to Google map location

Tagaytay Trip year 3: Hotel Dominique

This post is several months late but it is Throwback Thursday today so it should be okay. :) I took another solo-flight Tagaytay trip in the middle of last year to relax and go on a food trip. While it is a bit early to claim that these Tagaytay visits are now an annual ritual given that I've just done this two years in a row (and three times in the last four years), I'm pretty sure it's something I will keep doing quite regularly in the future.

I decided to stay in Hotel Dominique for two reason. First, I wanted to try a place where I hadn't stayed before. Second, and probably more importantly, I saw discount vouchers for this hotel online. :)

Hotel Dominique

I stayed here two nights but I actually tried two different rooms in this hotel - the Superior Room and the Junior Suite. I will say that the junior suite is significantly better and more comfortable than the superior room. The Superior Room is decent but it does feel pretty cramped. It has a very comfortable queen bed but there isn't a lot of wiggle room around it.

Superior Room

However, the bathroom does feel a bit old and dingy. I'm guessing it's not really that dirty but the gray tiles and the beige sink and toiler make it feel that way. The shower curtain also looks cheap and is too long.

Bathroom inside the Superior Room

The Junior Suite, on the other hand, is pretty spacious. It can accommodate four people since the main area has a double bed and two single beds in the bedroom.

Double bed in the main area of the Junior Suite

Bedroom inside the Junior Suite

I forgot to take a photo of the bathroom but it was a lot more sleek and sophisticated than the one in the superior room. It also had much better furnishings including a glass shower door. Oh, and there was a beautiful stained glass window by the staircase leading up to the Junior Suite.

Beautiful Filipino-themed stained glass at the staircase leading up to the Junior Suite

My rooms came with free breakfast and free wifi. The hotel also has a pretty good location, just a short driving distance from the rotonda. There is ample parking space both inside the hotel compound and just outside the entrance. There is a guard on duty so parking outside should still be pretty safe. I wouldn't recommend booking the superior room but if you are in a group of three or four people, this could be a good hotel for you.

Hotel Dominique
Km. 55 Aguinaldo Hi-way
Brgy. Maitim II East, Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay, 4120 Cavite
Front desk mobile: 0917-866-4140, 0998-974-9404
Tel no: (02)584-4641, (02)552-5141, (046)4130531
Email: reservations@hotel-dominique.net

How to get there:
From the Tagaytay-Calamba road coming from Manila/Sta. Rosa, turn right at the Tagaytay Rotonda into Emilio Aguinaldo Highway. Drive past Chowking and Jollibee on your right and McDonald's and Metrobank on your left. Hotel Dominique is around 800 meters away from the rotonda on the right side of the road. Click here for map.

Bad start

This is not a good start to the tennis year. Rafa Nadal lost in three sets to Michael Berrer in the first round of the Qatar Open. This is sort of understandable given that Rafa is coming back from an appendectomy and he barely played in the second half of 2014 due to a wrist injury. However, this loss is still quite unfortunate because his conqueror, Michael Berrer, is currently ranked 127. Also, Rafa also took the first set very easily (6-1) so you would have expected him to win the match. Alas, it didn't happen.

Rafa has now suffered back-to-back competitive losses. His last official match in 2014 was a loss to Borna Ćorić at the Swiss Indoors in October. (I'm not counting the Mubadala Tennis Exhibition in Abu Dhabi, although Rafa also had a bad loss there against Andy Murray.) With the Australian Open starting in a couple of weeks, I'm hoping that Rafa can find his form really soon so he can do well in the year's first Grand Slam tournament.

No more IHOP Biscuits and Gravy

I visited IHOP recently, fully intending to order my favorite dish: Biscuits and Gravy Combo. The biscuits are really soft and flaky and there is no other place in the Philippines (that I have found, at least) that serves biscuits like those. The dish also comes with sausages, eggs, and hash browns, as well as a generous serving of creamy gravy that goes perfectly well with everything in the dish.

However, when I checked the menu during my recent visit, I couldn't find the Biscuits and Gravy Combo anymore. I asked the waitress about it and she said they updated their menu around 6-7 months ago and they haven't been carrying this dish since. Argh! Such a shame. I'm guessing I was one of only a few people who ordered this dish so they had to discontinue serving it.

Since I was already there, I had to order something else. The good news for me was that I found my new favorite dish: Ham & Swiss Hash Brown Stack (golden hash browns topped with ham, melted Swiss cheese, sliced tomato, an over medium egg and rich hollandaise). You could say that it is like Eggs Benedict but with a hash brown base instead of bread. It also comes with a side of pancakes. This dish is part of their new Hash Brown Stack section in the menu so at least they replaced a dish I loved with one that I also really enjoy.

Infinito Singers of Indonesia sing Bituing Walang Ningning

To try and send some positive vibes to the people affected by the recent crash of Air Asia flight from Indonesia to Singapore and by Typhoon Seniang, here's a beautiful video of the Indonesian choir Infinito Singers performing a Filipino classic "Bituing Walang Ningning" (originally performed by Sharon Cuneta and composed by Willy Cruz).


video uploaded by Avin Kesuma

This is a beautiful performance and their enunciation of Filipino words is really good. In fact, their Siempre La Musica! performance in 2010 included choral works from the Philippines, Spain and Latin America. Cool!  Their choral rendition of Zsa Zsa Padilla's Ikaw Lamang is also online.

You can visit their website http://infinitosingers.com/ to learn more about them. They are also on facebook and twitter.

Typhoon Seniang hits the Philippines

More tragedy in Southeast Asia after Christmas. What started out as a tropical depression turned into tropical storm Seniang that hit the South of the Philippines on December 29. As a result, parts of Mindanao and Visayas experienced torrential rains and heavy flooding over the next few days, leading up to New Year's Eve.

While Seniang didn't have winds close to supertyphoon levels, it seems to have had just as much negative impact. The death toll is reported to be at 55 now. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) stated on December 31 that a total of 24 bridges and 23 roads have been heavily affected by landslides and/or flooding and a few bridges have even collapsed. According to an article in Manila Bulletin, the damage Seniang caused is estimated to be P644 million.

You can help typhoon victims by donating to the Philippine Red Cross through this link: http://ushare.redcross.org.ph/. Here, you can select to which campaign you want to make your donation. My thoughts and prayers also go out to the victims of Typhoon Seniang.

Tragic news about AirAsia QZ8501

Incredibly sad news as 2014 was about to close: AirAsia flight QZ8501 traveling from Indonesia to Singapore last December 28 crashed into the Java Sea. The plane was missing for a couple of days before debris was spotted. Shortly after that, search and rescue efforts were deployed and they have slowly started to retrieve bodies of crash victims from the water.

2014 was not a good year for air travel. I hope that AirAsia QZ8501 is the last plane tragedy that the world will experience in a really long time. My thoughts and prayers go out to the 162 passengers and crew on board the flight as well as to their families and loved ones.

Looking back at 2014

Just as I have done in the past, I will start off the new year by looking back at some the highlights of the previous year.

2014 was a year of many first for me, including the following:

• It was the first time in 17 years that I did not travel to another country during the year. I had my first international trip back in 1998 and since then I had always flown to at least one country every year. That is, until 2014.
• I got to visit Kalinga province for the first time.
• In relation to that trip, I got to rappel and shoot a handgun for the first time.
• I received my first delivery from Forexworld (I placed my order late in 2013 but I got it in early 2014). Since then, I've used their services two more times.
• I converted my old film negatives to digital photos.
• I stayed in two hotels within Metro Manila for the first time: Crowne Plaza in Ortigas and Tune Hotel in Quezon City.
• I also got to try several new restaurants: Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen, Tim Ho Wan, Alqueria Restaurante + Chocolateria, Yabu, Lola Cafe, Ukokkei Ramen Ron, Rambla, Kos Greek Ouzeri, Lucca, Brotzeit, Pamana in Tagaytay, P.F. Chang's, Greeka Kouzina, Paul, and Clubhouse (the last two, I haven't written about yet). I also got to try the S&R pizza for the first time.

While I may not have travelled abroad in 2014, I visited a lot of places in the Philippines. I already mentioned my first trip to Kalinga but I also revisited Batanes, Corregidor, and Tagaytay (twice). This included my third annual Tagaytay food trip, which I have yet to write about.

I also got to enjoy lots of great experiences with my family, including my nephew'sgraduation, my cousin's debut, our fun day at Enchanted Kingdom, my cousin'swedding, Nanay's birthday in Tagaytay, and our family trip to Corregidor.

There were also reunions with great friends who now live abroad, including Amy, Eugene, Anne, Cesar, and Suzanne and Nenen.

While there were a lot of very joyous moments during the year, there were also sad moments. I experienced three losses: my friend Liza, my cousin Doyle, and Tito Roy.

A few milestones I achieved in this blog:

• I published my 1,000th blog post.
• I recorded the most number of posts in year with 161 (my previous record was 156 which I achieved twice, in both 2013 and 2010).
• I achieved my second "perfect blogging month" last January.
• As a result of that, I have a new record for most number of hits in a month, with 2,720.
• I also finally changed the look of my blog.

Other memorable moments and experiences: I watched Wicked and Chicago, Rafa Nadal won his record-shattering 9th French Open, the Gilas Pilipinas basketball team left a mark and earned legions international fans in the FIBA Basketball World Championships, I performed in another dance competition at work, I purchased my 400^th online discount voucher, I used my 400thonline discount voucher, and I took on a new role at work.

That was a pretty good and full year. Hopefully, 2015 will be just as amazing as 2014, if not even better.

Happy 2015!

Happy new year, everyone!

I had a really random yet amazingly wonderful experience today. My family visited my grandmother for dinner and we decided to hear New Year's mass in the church where she lives. Midway through the mass, one of the church staff approached me and asked if I could join the offertory. Naturally, I agreed. I was then given a star that that had a lit candle on top. I was asked to put this star on top of the Christmas tree next to the altar. I wasn't given any other instructions apart from putting this star at the top of the tree. I put the star at the top of the tree but it didn't feel like it was properly in place so I pushed it down a bit more. As I did this, I must have either turned a switch on or closed the circuit because all of a sudden, the whole tree including the star lit up! Wow! I wasn't expecting that and I'm just happy I pushed the star down a bit more. :) As soon as the tree lit up, the people in church applauded. This is what it looked like (of course, I took this photo after the mass :))

Behind me was a procession of people who started putting lit candles all around the tree. We then moved in front of the altar as we were blessed by the priest. What a great way to start the year!

An Extraordinary Visit to Corregidor

Corregidor is one of the most historic sites in the Philippines due to the very important role it played during World War II. It is part of the province of Cavite and because of its location, right at the mouth of Manila Bay, it served as a fortress to protect Manila from the invading Japanese forces.

12-inch mortars in Battery Way

My family and I joined the day tour organized by Sun Cruises. The ferry terminal is located right behind Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas (previously Folk Arts Theater) at the CCP complex. We checked in at around 6:30 AM and boarded the ferry shortly after 7 AM. The ferry departed the port at around 8 AM and it took about an hour and a half to reach Corregidor. The tour itself took about 5 hours, including a 45-minute lunch break at the Corregidor Inn (buffet lunch is included in the package). We left the island at around 3PM and got back to Manila at around 4:15 to 4:30 PM

Statue of Gen. Douglas MacArthur at the Lorcha Dock

The tour is pretty well-organized. Upon check-in, we were given stickers that indicated our ferry seat number as well as which tranvia we were assigned to. The tour guides are all extremely knowledgeable. Our guide, Mar, not only had an incredible amount of historical knowledge about Corregidor that he shared with us but he was also very engaging, making it a lot easier to absorb the information he shared with us.

Touring the island on a tramvia

Some of the places we got to see when we were there include the ruins of the Mile-Long Barracks or Topside Barracks (they are only about a third of a mile long but there are three floors, hence the nickname mile-long),

Mile-Long Barracks or Topside Barracks

the Eternal Flame monument, which was designed by Aristides Demetrios to commemorate the courage and heroism of the Filipino and American soldiers and serve as a symbol of never-ending freedom,

Eternal Flame Monument

the Japanese Garden of Peace,

Japanese Garden of Peace

and the Corregidor Lighthouse.

Corregidor Lighthouse

We also visited the Malinta Tunnel. Entry to the tunnel is not included in the package rate (it costs an additional P200 per person) but the Sun Cruise tour provides enough time for guests to take a trip inside. The 30-minute light and sound show in the tunnel is called "The Malinta Experience" and it reenacts key moments during World War II. It features dioramas and sculptures created by National Artist Napoleon Abueva and a script written by National Artist Lamberto Avellana.

Inside the Malinta Tunnel

Because of all the information shared to us by our very knowledgeable tour guide Mar, I now know a whole lot more than I did before this trip. For instance, the name Corregidor comes from the Spanish word corregir which means 'to correct'. Supposedly, during the Spanish colonial times, the island served as a checkpoint for all ships entering Manila who had to submit their documents for checking and correction.

Pacific War Memorial Museum

Corregidor served as the headquarters of Major General George Moore and as such, it was named Fort Mills. There used to be a swimming pool, a baseball field, and even a cinema here. Apparently, the last film shown before the cinema was destroyed was Gone with the Wind.

Ruins of Cine Corregidor

Corregidor eventually succumbed to the Japanese on May 6, 1942, twenty-seven days after the fall of Bataan. The invasion started on December 29, 1941 and apparently, the Japanese were expecting to take control of Manila and the Philippines in just 50 days. As it turned out, the Filipino soldiers were a lot more courageous, valiant, and tough, and while they eventually lost, it took more four months for the Japanese to win the Battle of Corregidor. This delay of more than two months threw off the plans of Japan and as a result, they were no longer able to attack Australia.

The Pacific War Memorial honors the Filipino and the American soldiers who fought in WWII. Underneath the dome is a circular altar located directly under the dome's oculus. Our guide told us that the oculus and the alter are placed in such a way that every year, on May 6 (the anniversary of the Corregidor surrender), the sun shines directly onto the circular alter through the oculus.

Pacific War Memorial

It's amazing to think that Corregidor held firm for so long considering that the guns and mortars here were all really old. The Japanese attacked the Philippines in 1941-1942 and most of the artillery on the island were built in the late 1800s to very early 1900s. That means they were all 40-50 years old when they were used to protect the Philippines. Our guide also explained the difference between a gun and a mortar: a gun is used for long range attack while a mortar has a higher trajectory and shorter range. As such, mortars are used to fend off invaders who manage to get past the long-range gun defense.

12-inch gun in Battery Hearn

The tours organized by Sun Cruises are definitely worth taking. The day trip costs P2,250 per person (although we got ours at a massive discount thanks to Ensogo) which is actually pretty cheap when you take into account the fact that it includes a roundtrip ferry ride, very knowledgeable guides, and a buffet lunch (the food was also pretty good). The day tour is really crammed and we would normally have only about 10 to 15 minutes at each stop. If you want to spend more time at each point of interest on the island, it might be worth staying in the island overnight. (I think I may do this at some point in the future.)

The Corregidor Inn

I visited Corregidor once before with my extended family (there must have been about 30 of us!) when I was still in high school. I guess that maybe due to my greater appreciation of history and understanding of the significance of Corregidor now, this 2014 trip proved to be a lot more memorable and meaningful. There is a whole lot more information I could share but I think it would be much better for you to experience it directly. I really do think that a visit to Corregidor should be on the bucket list of every Filipino.

Post-Christmas celebration

What an amazing last few days for me and my family. The key activity around which the rest of our weekend was planned was a trip to Corregidor. My mom had been wanting to take my family there for a while since my nephews had been learning about it in school. My mom thought that taking them to visit would hopefully make it real for them and help them understand Philippine history a lot more. (I will write more about our Corregidor trip in a separate post.)

Since a trip to this historic island would require us to be at the ferry terminal behind the Folk Arts Theatre before 7AM, I thought it would be better if we all stayed in a hotel room to make it easier for all of us to get to the pier on time. I decided to book two nights in Ascott Makati since staying there for only one night would mean that we would have to check out at 6AM and we wouldn't really be able to rest and fully enjoy our serviced apartment and its great location.

On our first night there, we had dinner in Saboten in Glorietta 5. It was my family's first time there (not mine) although the food here is similar to Yabu so the cuisine wasn't foreign to them anymore. Breakfast wasn't included in my room reservation and since we needed to be at the pier before 7AM the next day, I had to find a convenient place for us to have an early morning meal. I asked Bo's Coffee (right next to Saboten) what time they open and apparently they are open 24 hours a day. Cool! So at 5:45 AM the next day, we make our way to Bo's to get some food and coffee.

A couple of other firsts for me this weekend. After our Corregidor trip, I drove my family to BGC where we had an early dinner in P.F. Chang's. I had never eaten there before but when I saw a deal for this restaurant in Ensogo, I decided it might be a good time to try this place out. Our timing wasn't very good though since a lot of items were not available since they had a lot of guests the night before and they didn't have any deliveries to replenish their stock due to the holidays. Nevertheless, we had a pretty satisfying meal after a long and tiring day of touring. My other first was getting to have some pizza from S&R. I had been hearing about the S&R pizza for a long time from my friends who have tried it and my mom happened to shop there right before we checked in and she thought of getting some pizza for us. I will say that the pizza is pretty good and it is also really big! I had 2 1/2 slices for lunch and I felt stuffed after that.

Before checking out of Ascott, I thought it would be a good chance for me to bring my family to Tim Ho Wan for an early lunch since they do have a branch in Glorietta. Once the mall opened, my family and I made a beeline for this dim sum resto and when we arrived, a line was already forming outside. We were second in the queue and thankfully, there were still two tables available so we got seated almost as soon as we got there. Cool! A few seconds later and other people would have gotten that table (there must have been three or four groups of people behind us in line and that line formed almost instantly after we arrived). Imagine that, Tim Ho Wan had just opened and already they were full! I'm happy that my family have now gotten to try this new restaurant without having to wait in line for a really long time as most other people have to do. Oh and I also got a box of their Baked Buns with BBQ Pork for take-out but I realized as soon as I got home that I should have gotten more than just one box. :)

After checking out of Ascott, I drove my family home before taking my grandmother and my mom to the cemetery to visit my grandfather. Later that evening, I passed by a couple of my friends on my way home so I could drop off my Christmas presents. It was definitely a long and tiring few days but it definitely makes for a very memorable Post-Christmas weekend.

Goldfish Salvation by Riusuke Fukahori

I saw a clip about Riusuke Fukahori on a random TV show recently and I was so impressed by his work. He creates incredibly realistic 3D paintings of goldfish by painting on multiple layers of resin. Not only is the artwork stunning by itself but the amount of ingenuity and painstaking effort and time is just awe-inspiring. I mean, he has to wait for each layer of resin to dry before painting on that layer and he has to do so many of those. (If I recall correctly, I think each piece of art takes months to create).

Check it out here (the goldfish resin painting is showcased in the first half of the video):


video uploaded in youtube by yfu1999

In the show I saw, Fukahori-san said that he has made mistakes where the layer of resin wasn't laid out correctly, resulting in air bubbles and ruining his work. I can't imagine how frustrating that must be, knowing that you spent so much time on something and having to start again. This artist and his devotion to his craft is absolutely outstanding. I would certainly love to have one of his pieces.

Official facebook page of Riusuke Fukahori: https://www.facebook.com/RiusukeFukahori

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas everyone!

This holiday season was a bit up-and-down for me. It started out pretty well. I prepared my Christmas list quite early and I already had about 80% of all my gifts ready by the first week of December. I also managed to distribute a lot of those gifts efficiently. I then spent a significant amount of time during the last weekend before Christmas trying to complete my gift list. By late Sunday evening, I pretty much had all my presents ready.

Things started to go awry earlier this week. I realized I forgot to place a food order for our noche buena and when I checked a couple of Conti's locations, most of them said that the latest pick-up time they could give me on the 24th was at 3pm which was too early given that I had plans until the late afternoon that day. On top of that, the holiday stress and the overeating must have gotten  to me because I ended up with a bit of a bad stomach on Tuesday night, making me miss one of my annual Christmas reunion dinners with my college groupmates and friends. On Wednesday, I overslept from fatigue and I was a few hours late for my Christmas lunch (brunch actually) with my high school friends. To make matters worse, I forgot my gifts for a couple of the kids at the party. Argh!

The rest of Wednesday was a major rush. I went to Conti's along Shaw Boulevard to pick up my order (they were the only branch I called on Monday night that still allowed a 5pm pick-up). I then swung by SM Aura to purchase cupcakes from Royal Touch before passing by the house of a couple of my friends to drop off my gifts to them. By the time I got home, I was tired. But at least I had gotten most of my stuff done.

Things started getting much better again after that. My mom was quite happy with my gifts to her: I got her waterproof Canon camera to replace the one she broke a few months back and I also got her a boxful of Bath and Body Works products that included hand soaps, body lotions, hand creams, sanitizers (both regular and pocket), a body mist, a travel fragrance, and a room spray. (This one I had planned months in advance since I had to place the order from the US and have them shipped here; knowing how bad port congestion is right now, I made sure to order my stuff really early and it was a success.) I also finally set up the LED TV I got for my grandmother. I got that TV probably 5-6 months ago but it was only about a month ago that I was able to bring it to my grandmother's house. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to set it up then so I thought today would be a great time to do it. When I finally got it to work, my grandmother seemed really happy. After all, her previous TV was maybe 20 to 30 years old already and the color in the screen was all out of whack. Now she gets to see clearer pictures on a bigger screen. Cool!

My grandmother's new TV

Oh and here's a Christmas first. After I got home from my grandmother's house earlier today, I was supposed to drive to the mall to buy something. Unfortunately, my car wouldn't start. I figured I was having battery problems so I called Motolite Express Delivery. Thankfully for me, they still had operations even during Christmas. About an hour and a half after I placed my call, one of their guys arrived to check my car. He confirmed that my battery needed to be replaced. A big thanks to Motolite for being available even on Christmas day and for having a portable credit card terminal. Because of them, my Christmas didn't end up being a major bust. :)

Motolite
http://www.motolite.com/
24-hour hotline: 370-6686

Chicago the Musical: Live in Manila!

Last week, I got to watch Chicago during its Manila run at The Theatre in Solaire Resort. I watched this musical during a trip I took to London more than a decade ago and I thought it would be good for me to take my mom to see it. Needless to say, it was an amazing show!

The Manila cast featured Bianca Marroquin as Roxie Hart, Terra MacLeod as Velma Kelley, Jeff McCarthy as Billy Flynn, and Roz Ryan as Mama Morton. Because of that London trip I took back in 2000, I was probably the only one among my friends and relatives who knew about this musical even before the Oscar-winning movie came out in 2002. I didn't initially intend to see it since I didn't know anything about it. However, it was quite heavily advertised when I was there and it was when I was reading a Time Out magazine that I decided I wanted to see it since it boasted of sensational choreography (I'm sure all the advertisements also had an impact). I later found out that Chicago received a Tony nomination for Best Choreography in a Musical in 1976 (losing to A Chorus Line) and it was choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse. Adjustments to the choreography were made by Ann Reinking. Check out the very popular jazz hands and styling of Fosse in the opening number All That Jazz (performed by Terra MacLeod):

video uploaded in youtube by TheTombRaider94

While I already enjoyed seeing it for the first time, I actually enjoyed it quite more this time around. My mom was also impressed and she said she found it a whole lot more entertaining than the movie. Part of it was probably because the performers sang live incredibly well and their words were so clearly enunciated that you could easily understand what they were singing about. It also helped that the theater had incredible acoustics. We also had a fuller view of the overall stage choreography versus the edited bits and pieces of choreography in the film that were interspersed with close-ups of the cast. It also never fails to blow my mind when I see performers singing and dancing spectacularly well at the same time. During curtain call, we gave the cast a standing ovation, as did many other people in the audience.

The final show in Manila was staged last Sunday, December 21 after a two-week run. I'm happy I was able to see it with my mom. It was also the first time I watched a show in the Solaire Theatre. Cool! I'm guessing it won't be the last.

Mr. Jones in Greenbelt closed (for now)

I was in Greenbelt earlier today to do some last minute shopping and I thought of having dinner in Mr. Jones. However, as I made my way to where I was expecting it to be, I saw that it wasn't there anymore. Instead, massive boards had been put up and there was a sign indicating that they were now building Torch there instead.

I just checked their facebook page and apparently, they closed a few months ago. Such a shame because I really love the food in Mr. Jones. However, there is a glimmer of hope. It seems they will be opening what they call a "Jr." version of this resto in BGC. I am hoping they keep at least some of my favorite dishes including their Wicked Truffled Mac n' Cheese, Big Mama's Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, and Honey Drizzled Fried Chicken and Homemade Biscuits.

Anniversary

It's been three years since my grandfather 'Tatay' passed away. To commemorate this anniversary, my family offered a mass for him and we visited his grave in the cemetery. In the past couple of years, we would normally organize a picnic-style merienda with a few relatives and friends. This year, we kept things a bit more simple and intimate. We didn't prepare anything and after saying our prayers, we had dinner in Alex III. It was definitely a lot easier not having to prepare food and go to the cemetery early to set up a tent, tables and chairs. Nevertheless, the important thing is that we continue to remember and honor Tatay.

Another milestone

Another milestone in my life as an online deal site addict LOL. I have now used my 400th voucher. Wow! It was a photobook discount voucher that allowed me to hit the 400 mark.

For the most part, I've been happy with my voucher purchases. However, it is inevitable that a few of the items I bought, I wasn't too happy with. One of the most disappointing things I purchased was an Anna doll (from Frozen). I just purchased it recently from Cashcashpinoy and the intent was for me to give it as a gift to my inaanak this Christmas. It looked good in the pictures and the discounted price was around P400 (original price was P600+ I think) but when I got it, I really didn't like it. The quality wasn't that good, the velcro that was meant to keep the skirt in place wasn't attached to the skirt well, and the fabric of the cloth looked quite cheap and flimsy. My immediate thought when I saw it: "there is no way that this item costs P400!" Ugh. Oh well. I told my friend about this and she said there is someone she knows who would be happy with it even if the quality isn't that great so I agreed to just give it to her.

Other notable purchase failures: Slim N Fit shirts (I was hoping that they could act like a girdle and make my belly look thinner LOL but no, they didn't work the way I needed them to) and a Swivel Sweeper which I purchased years ago but never opened and never used. That Swivel Sweeper wasn't a complete failure though since I just gave it recently as an exchange gift hahaha. I told my friend that she can just regift it. Makes me wonder many times it will be regifted or if it will ever be used at all. :)

"Bring me a higher love" cover by James Vincent McMorrow

I heard this cover on the radio recently (the original song is by Steve Winwood). I didn't know who the singer was so I had to search online. I discovered that this version was by Irish singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow. What a hauntingly beautiful voice!


video uploaded in youtube by Mike Davis

A reunion and a wedding

Last Saturday, I met up with my friends in the Makati area. One of our friends, Cesar, who is now based in the US visited Manila for a few days so we made sure we got to hang out while he was here. We had dinner in Romulo Cafe along Jupiter Street so that Cesar could enjoy some Pinoy food while he was in town. We then headed to A'Toda Madre which is a tequila bar. Strangely enough, no one in our group was a tequila fan. In fact, most of us didn't really like tequila. However, I thought I'd give it a try since I did had some really good tequila when I traveled to Mexico about a decade ago so I was hoping I would find similar tequila here. Unfortunately, I didn't really like the shot I got (Blue Iguana) but I did enjoy the two margaritas I ordered. I guess if I visit this place again, I will stick to the margaritas. We then headed to Moonshine Bar along Jupiter where we stayed for a few more hours before calling it a night.

Thankfully, I woke up hangover-free the next day because I was attending the wedding of my colleague in the mid-afternoon. The ceremony was held in the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus near Resorts World (this is one of the churches I visited that had free basement parking). The reception followed in the early evening in One Esplanade in the MOA complex. I got there quite early and none of the other folks in my table were there. I was probably alone for close to an hour and during that time, the waiters ended up passing by quite a few times, offering me canapés which were all tremendously good! They served portobello mushroom cooked in batter and served with a wasabi cream dip, chorizo and cheese-flavored potato croquettes, and salmon served on a light pancake. (Clearly they were so delicious as I remember every single one of them. :)). Eventually, my other colleagues arrived. It was a good reception and you could see that the couple and their parents were all incredibly thankful given that there was threat of terrible weather on Sunday due to typhoon Ruby (luckily, it didn't rain that day).

The rains did come the next day, Monday. Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit) still caused a lot of damage but thankfully, it didn't turn out to have the same strength as Yolanda. Hopefully we don't have any more storms in the country in the remainder of the year.