Destination Wedding

For the first time since the pandemic started, I attended a wedding in person. My friend and ex-colleague Jeyo married Michelle in Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar in Bataan and I was invited to join their celebration.

The drive from Metro Manila to Las Casas is about 4 hours so I decided to book a room for the night. A few of our ex-colleagues were invited but only three of us confirmed. However, a few days before the wedding, the two people who said they could go suddenly had to send their regrets. This now meant I wouldn't know anyone else at the wedding. However, I booked my room via Agoda and I selected the cheapest option, which meant that it was non-refundable. Plus, my vacation leave had already been approved (the wedding was on a weekday). I had also never been to Las Casas. Finally and most importantly, I was going there for Jeyo. As such, I decided to still go.

The ceremony was held at Sanctuario De San Jose and it was scheduled to start at 2pm. I arrived in Las Casas before 2pm but I got confused with the entrance and check-in set-up at the resort (I will write more about this in a succeeding post) so it was around 3pm when I made it to the church. While I thought I was massively late, the ceremony ended up starting at around 4pm so I made it with time to spare!

Sanctuario De San Jose in Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar

While the couple was having their wedding pictorial, cocktails were served to the guests at the courtyard of Casa Binan. I didn't want to eat too much because dinner was going to be served shortly but I did drink a lot of water. It was tremendously hot that afternoon and the dress code for men was a suit so when I arrived at the cocktails area, I probably drank five glasses of water in a row hahaha (and a few more glasses after that). One wonderful surprise was that they served "dirty ice cream" or the traditional Pinoy sorbetes which was perfect for a very hot afternoon.

Casa Binan in Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar

The dinner reception was staged outdoors at Plaza Mayor De Tobias. I headed to the reception area while people were still having cocktails so that I could take photos.

When I got there, the wedding coordinator told me that I had been moved to the VIP table. It seems my friend felt that I might feel out of place at a table where everyone else knew each other (which wouldn't be the case at the VIP table because most of the people there don't know each other either anyway). I had to ask the wedding coordinator a few times if he was sure and he was. Thankfully, there were no assigned seats so I got to pick the one that was furthest away from the stage.

Before the program started, all the guests were asked to head over to the edge of the Umagol River. The couple made their grand entrance on a raft that crossed the river. Cool!

The reception was a beautiful celebration of the couple's journey and their love for each other. While it featured the usual program or some variation of it, the speeches were heartfelt and the wedding videos, especially the same day edits, were beautifully done. The great thing about having a wedding at Las Casas is that it is so photogenic. The food was also really good!

The program ended at around 9:30pm. My room was a short walk from the reception area so it allowed me to see the resort at night. I was exhausted when I got back to my room and it was such a relief to get out of my suit! Needless to say, I took a long, hot shower after that.

I'm happy that I was able to attend Jeyo and Michelle's wedding. It wasn't easy, given the distance and the heat, but I felt good that someone from our set of friends was able to go. I also did get to enjoy the resort a bit more the next day. I will write more about my Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar in my next posts.

Next: Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar

LTO Woes

I just registered my car at LTO and what a horrific experience that was! It was a far cry from what happened last year, when it took less than four hours for me to get insurance, have emission testing done, and pay the registration fee. I was expecting it to be the same this year but I ended up having to go to LTO twice, losing a day and a half in total. Wow!

DAY 1

I arrived at LTO at 830am. I proceeded to get insurance before heading to the nearest accredited emission testing center which was a short drive away. Unfortunately, when I got there, the guy who inspected my car told me that my car plate light was busted and that I needed to replace it to pass the emission test. I knew there were several car shops a few kilometers away so I drove there, hoping at least one of them was open and would be selling car plate lights. Thankfully, I found one. However, when the person at the store checked my lights, we found out that they were working. Ugh. What a waste of time. I thanked the guy and drove back to the testing center.

Unfortunately, as I was driving back, Waze started acting up badly. I was unfamiliar with the area so I had to rely on Waze and it kept rerouting me. While it took me maybe less than 15 minutes to drive to the car shop, the return trip took almost 45 minutes! By the time I got back, there was already a long line of cars. As such, it took a while for my emission test to be done.

It was around 11:30am when I got back to LTO. By then, I was told I could no longer be accommodated. Apparently, there is only a certain number of people who can be processed each day. I was advised to return a few days later and that I should get there at 7am or earlier. Because I was quite busy, I ended up returning more than a week later.

DAY 2

I followed the advice I was given and arrived at LTO before 7am. Even then, there was already a long queue! I got there before LTO was open so the line didn't move until car registration processing opened at 8am. It was 9:30 when I got to the front of the line and was served.

Problem: I was told that because the car was registered in my mom's name, I needed to present an authorization letter from my mom, along with a photocopy of her valid ID and a photocopy of my own ID. What?! I had never heard of these requirements before! (They certainly didn't require these from me last year.) In retrospect, I should have checked the LTO website for the list of requirements but I didn't expect there to have been changes in this process. Ugh.

I asked the person if I could just show him pictures of the authorization letter and the valid IDs on my phone. He said they required actually physical print-outs. He told me that if I had these in my phone, I could go to one of the print shops around LTO and have them printed there. However, I didn't want to link my phone to a computer at a print shop due to possible mobile phone intrusions or malware. They would also end up having copies of my files that include personally identifiable information which would be a huge privacy risk.

As such, I decided to go back home. I called my mom and asked her to send me an authorization letter and an ID which I then printed out. I didn't have a photocopier at home and I didn't want to be bothered looking for one that was open nearby so I took a photo of my ID and printed it out as well. Once I had everything I needed, I drove back to LTO. It was 12 noon when I arrived. The guy who processed my papers in the morning told me to walk up back to him once I had all the requirements without having to fall in line again so that's what I did. He accommodated me and gave me queue number 80 for the registration fee payment.

I decided to ask the lady who was processing the car registration payments what number was being served. She told me they were only at 56. I did the math: it took 4 hours to process 56 people so I figured it might take 2-3 hours before my number would be called. She told me I could go have lunch and if my number was called and I wasn't there, they would set my papers aside until I got back. I decided to look for a nearby restaurant where I could have lunch. (By then, I had been awake since 6am and still hadn't eaten anything!)

True enough, it was around 3pm when my number was called. They first verified if we were there so that they could confirm which official receipts to print out. They then called our names again, this time to make the payment. It was 3:30pm when I left. Since I got there at 7am, that meant it was a total of 8.5 hours from for time I arrived at LTO until the time I left. Remember that this was already my second trip. So much time lost just to register a car, a process that is done each year!

Considering that everyone has to have an account at the LTO Portal, I was expecting the process to be much faster this year. Instead, it took me significantly longer to finish. At least I now know what to do next year.

On a more positive note, I finally got to resolve the problem with the LTO account I set up last year for the car. Because the vehicle is registered to my mom, I had to create an LTO account using her name last year. However, since she wasn't with me, if I used her email address to create the account, a one-time password would be sent to her and I might not be able to get it fast enough to complete the creation of the account. The LTO tech guy was able to create an account without an email address and he gave me a temporary password. Unfortunately, I forgot to log in within 24 hours to change that password and when I eventually did, the temporary password was no longer valid so I couldn't log in to the account. Because I was in LTO for a few hours this year, I was able to get the tech guy's help to unlock the account and reset the password. For the first time in a year, I can finally access that account. Whew!

Wimbledon 2022

Congratulations to Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina for winning the Men's and Women's Championships at Wimbledon.

Last night 🏆#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Z3Squ4c6B3

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2022

Novak Djokovic overcame Nick Kyrgios in the final. This now gives Djokovic his 21st major title, moving him past Roger Federer to solo 2nd among the men in terms of most grand slam titles won. He now also has 7 Wimbledon titles, tying him with Sampras at 2nd overall (behind Federer's 8). I wouldn't be surprised if Novak wins more majors before he eventually hangs his racquet and he has a decent chance of winning at least one more Wimbledon. Nadal got deep in his draw but unfortunately, after an incredible come-from-behind 5-set win over Taylor Fritz in the semis where he struggled with an abdominal injury, he had to withdraw before taking the court to play Kyrgios in the semis. It has still been an immense year for Rafa and hopefully he gets better soon. He missed the US Open last year and I would love to see him play in the tournament where he has won 4 titles.

While Novak was the favorite to win the title, Elena Rybakina was not. In fact, she was seeded #17, making her the second lowest seeded women's player to win Wimbledon since the WTA rankings began in 1975. She faced the very popular Tunisian player Ons Jabeur and you could tell that the audience seemed to be on Jabeur's side in the final. However, Rybakina kept her nerve and used her imposing power to come back from a set down to win the title in 3 sets. She is the first player from Kazakhstan to win a grand slam title. I actually really like her - I guess I am now a bit of a fan - and hopefully, she continues to go up the rankings and win more titles.

However, the result that impressed me the most was achieved by Diede De Groot, who won the women's wheelchair singles title. She has now won 8 consecutive Grand Slam titles. She won a Golden Slam last year and she is one event short of winning another Grand Slam (or Calendar Grand Slam) this year. I really look forward to seeing what other achievements Diede can achieve in her career.

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Congratulations to Novak, Elena, Diede, and to all the other winners at this year's All England Lawn Tennis Championships!

Quarantine Stories Part 21

New Fitbit Achievement Unlocked: I recently received the London Underground Badge. This now means that I have walked a total of 402 kilometers since getting my Fitbit. I did the math and this means that I have been walking more than 7 kilometers a day since I got my Fitbit. That's very (pleasantly) surprising!

My London Underground Fitbit Badge

I also just planted a new tree in my GCash GForest! While my original goal was to be able to plant a Yakal Tree because it requires the most G energy. However, it is marked as Limited Edition and it hasn't been available in more than a year. Since I wasn't sure whether it would ever be available again, I decided to get the tree that requires the next most G energy to plant: the Bakhaw Lalake.

My Bakhaw Lalake GForest Certificate

This is now the fourth tree that GCash has planted (or will plant) on my behalf. It is also the the first tree that will be planted in a mangrove in Tanon Strait. Cool!

Description of Bakhaw Lalake

I also only recently watched a movie at the theater for the first time since the pandemic. I saw Top Gun: Maverick and I'm really glad I did because it was absolutely fantastic! The original Top Gun is a cult classic and everyone I know who had seen the sequel have raved about it so I really wanted to catch it during its theatrical run. Thankfully, it lived up to the hype. SPOILER ALERT: stop reading or skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to know more about the film. Top Gun: Maverick is action-packed and intense, with incredible jet sequences and edge-of-your-seat dog fights. I loved the Star Wars-esque missile drop (even Rooster's successful hit despite not having his missiles guided by laser was reminiscent of Luke Skywalker's use of the force in blowing up the first Death Star.) It also has its fair share of nostalgia, paying homage to the original movie. One of the my favorite scenes was the one with Maverick and Ice, played by Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer who reprised their roles from the first movie. I knew that Val Kilmer survived throat cancer but that illness damaged his voice very badly so I was very pleasantly surprised to see that he was in this sequel. I also have to say that Jennifer Connelly is such a goddess and is still absolutely radiant. I'm really happy that I've finally been able to see a movie at the theater again.

I was so happy, in fact, that I went back to the cinema very soon after that to watch Thor: Love and Thunder. I had heard some not-so-good reviews from people who had seen it before I did but because Thor is my favorite superhero and I'm a sucker for big blockbuster action flicks, I still wanted to see it. SPOILER ALERT: stop reading or skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to know more about the film. A lot of the negative feedback I've heard is that it's too comedic and some people felt that maybe the film didn't strike the right balance between funny and serious. I get that, but I still enjoyed it. It was nice seeing Natalie Portman again and I loved the surprise twist of her becoming Mighty Thor and being able to wield the Mjolnir (which we already saw in the trailer). I was a bit surprised that Gorr, the antagonist in the film, was able to lift Stormbreaker, but apparently this weapon doesn't have the same special magic that Mjolnir does, so that means other people can actually lift the axe. I especially love how Thor now has Odin's ability to bestow the power of Thor to others (for a limited time!) and this makes me wonder what other powers Thor has developed over time or whether he will use this particular one again in future films. It was also interesting finding out the meaning behind the movie title. Make sure you stay for the mid-credits and the end-credits scenes.

On Netflix, I got to watch Rescued by Ruby. SPOILER ALERT: stop reading or skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to know more about the film. It's a light, feel-good, easy-to-watch movie that people who love dogs will enjoy. What I didn't realize until the end, however, is that it is actually based on a true story. While there are some embellishments for cinematic effect, the big twist in the end that left me absolutely stunned is all true! That was some amazing positive karmic fortune! While I have spoiled things a bit already, I am choosing not to reveal this major climactic twist and I recommend that you go see Rescued by Ruby if you can.

I am also happy that my HBO Go is now working properly on my Smart TV. I had problems with it ever since I set it up on relatively new TV late last year. Each time I would play an HBO Go show, it would hang after several seconds, making the viewing experience very unpleasant. I initially thought it was my internet speed, although I never had a problem with Netflix. Recently, my Smart TV prompted me to update my app and that seemed to fix the issue. I have since used my TV to watch a few films on HBO Go, including Paycheck and Kindergarten Cop (I've seen both films before, but that was many years ago so it was nice getting to see them again). The Batman is available on this streaming platform so hopefully, I can find time to see it soon.

Overdoughs Cafe + Elait

I finally got to try Overdoughs cookies! And not only that, I actually got to dine in Overdoughs Cafe + Elait. Cool!

Overdoughs Cafe at the Promenade in Greenhills

During the pandemic, Overdoughs popped up in my social media feed on multiple occasions. I learned that this establishment employs deaf people and because of that, I had been wanting to try them out. I never got around to it though until recently. The first time was when I went to Century City Mall. I saw an Overdoughs kiosk at the lower ground floor and I immediately decided to try their OD Mini Chonky Cookies.

Overdoughs OD Mini Chonky Cookies and Crinkles

When I visited Greenhills recently for some errands, I decided to have lunch at Overdoughs Cafe + Elait, which is located at the second floor of Promenade Mall (in the cinema area). I ordered the Meat Me All The Way OD Sourdough Pizza (P569), which had salami, bacon, and homemade Italian sausage. I enjoyed it, but because I wanted to try more items on the menu, I ate only half of it and took the rest home.

Meat Me All The Way OD Sourdough Pizza

I then ordered dessert: Salted Dark and Cream Chonkie Rolled Ice Cream (P149) from Elait. There are two options for rolled ice cream: custard and yogurt. I decided to go with custard.

Salted Dark and Cream Chonkie Rolled Ice Cream from Elait

I decided I wanted to get some pasalubong for my family so I ordered two cups of OD Mini Chonky Cookies; I got one cup with eight regular chonkies (P209) and the other cup I got had eight chonkies with walnuts (P229).

OD Mini Chonky Cookie Cups

I also got a box of five assorted mini flaky empanadas (P200). These come in three flavors: Cheesy Chicken, Beef and Mushroom, and Ham and Cheese.

Assorted Mini Flaky Empanadas

I quite enjoyed my dining experience here and I loved the fact that I was supporting a business that employs deaf people so when I needed to return to Greenhills a week later, I decided to have lunch here again. This time, I decided to order their Chicken and Fries (P299). This combined their chicken strips with their OD fat fries, which are deep fried in beef tallow and tossed in their special Cajun seasoning. I have to say, I really enjoyed this! Not only did I think that it was a really good portion size for P299, the chicken and the fries all tasted great! I ended up ordering extra gravy (P20) because I liked dipping the fries in gravy (instead of in ketchup).

Chicken and Fries

While many of the employees are deaf,  I didn't have any problems ordering or communicating with them. Even if I don't know how to use sign language, I would just point at menu items I wanted to order. I also used hand gestures to communicate and they always understood what I was trying to say. For instance, to indicate that I was leaving it up to them which chonkie flavors to include in my assorted cup order, I just pointed to all the cookies in kind of a circular, all-encompassing motion and they got what I was saying. When I wanted water and made gestures to ask for water, they understood me as well. Thanks to Sesame Street, I actually know how to sign the alphabet but I felt that using hand gestures would just be easier. I do know how to sign "Thank you" now and I would use it when interacting with their personnel.

Elait at the Promenade in Greenhills

I'm really glad I finally got to try Overdoughs and Elait. There are several stores located all over Metro Manila so hopefully, I can enjoy their food again soon. My brother told me that their ube-flavored OD Bavarian Cream Doughnut is really good so maybe next time, I can try that.

Links:
Overdoughs: https://overdoughs.ph/
Overdoughs on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/overdoughsph/
Elait on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elaitph/

Desert Elephant

I was viewing my social media feed recently when I saw a picture posted by my friend of these really awesome-looking shoes. They looked so good that even if I'm not a sneakerhead and I don't know a lot about shoes, I messaged him to ask him about them. He said that he pre-ordered these shoes - Nike Air Jordan 3 Retro Desert Elephant - from Titan in BGC. He also told me that when he picked them up earlier that day, the sales staff informed him that they still had stocks.

Nike Air Jordan 3 Retro Desert Elephant

I decided to pass by Titan in One Bonifacio a couple of days later to see if they still had a pair in my size. They did! So I tried them on. And I gotta say, these shoes look great in photos but I thought they looked equally good (if not better) when I was wearing them! They aren't cheap but I liked them to much that I decided to get them anyway.

The question now is whether I will actually wear them anytime soon haha. I don't want to damage them or make them dirty. Maybe I can do research on shoe treatments that can be done to keep my shoes are pristine as possible.

Face-to-Face Time

After being in isolation for most of the last couple of years, I've taken as many opportunities as I could to meet up with people. In fact, for the last few months, game nights have once again become staples. In this last month, I had a couple of them, including one where we got to celebrate Mitch's birthday. This was actually the first time we celebrated someone's birthday face-to-face. As is often the case, I was responsible for the cake. I decided to order a Dark Chocolate Cheesecake from Mary Grace because it was a limited edition cake made for Father's Day so it won't be available during most of the year. I'm glad I ordered this because it was really good. So good in fact that Mitch actually ordered the same cake for her birthday celebration with her family! It's a bit pricey but if you haven't had it yet and it's still available, I suggest you give it a try (even just a slice).

Dark Chocolate Cheesecake from Mary Grace

I also got to play a few games that night, including 5211, the new edition of Love Letter, Isle of Cats, and Qwinto. Earlier in June, I had another game night where we got to play Architects of the West Kingdom. I purchased a secondhand copy of this game before the pandemic and I got to play it only once before quarantine started so I'm glad I got to play it again.

I've also met up with many different sets of friends over meals. I had lunch at Cafe Breton with my high school friends (I requested this place because I hadn't eaten there in a really long time). That was pretty special too because the son of my friend who now studies abroad was in Manila for the summer break and he joined for lunch. It was cool hearing about how his life has been living and studying abroad.

I also had a Wild Flour-themed get-together in BGC with my friends and teammates from the corporate social responsibility group in my previous company. I say Wild Flour-themed because we had dinner at Wild Flour Italian (which was the first time I ate there) then we walked all the way to the original Wild Flour and Farmacy for dessert. While my friends all got ice cream from Farmacy, I got a cake and coffee from Wild Flour. I also ended up buying some pastries that were 50% off. (I brought those to my family the next day for their merienda.) 

I also had lunch with some friends in Single Origin in Rockwell. We had all been chatting about getting together but our schedules didn't match up until recently. It was the first time in about 3 years that we all got together to enjoy a meal and catch up. I love meeting up with this set of friends because of their involvement in the arts and culture scene. It's always great to hear about what they are or have been up to and learning about upcoming shows and exhibits. Hopefully, I can get to see a live show again soon.

Finally, I got to meet up with my friends from my first company. Jette lives way up North while Chari lives way down in the South so we decided to meet up in Shangri-La mall for lunch. Mitch suggested Kettle because of their buttermilk chicken (naturally, we ordered that). Needless to say, our meal together was filled with fun and intriguing stories. One of our friends based in Australia might be coming home for Christmas so hopefully we get to see each other again then.

There has been a surge of Covid cases recently but so far, the cases have been mild and hospitals are still not overwhelmed and remain in good shape. While I will obviously still keep my guard up, I'm hoping these are signs that our bodies are slowly building a greater ability to manage and fight the virus and that life continues to get closer to pre-pandemic normal.

My Fitbit Achievements

I really love my Fitbit! I talked about what triggered me to get one in a previous post and how it has encouraged me to exercise and try to be fitter in another post. What's made my Fitbit use even better is how it motivates me through badges. I got my first one - Boat Shoe - on the first day of using my Fitbit by taking 5,000 steps.

As it turned out, I got my second badge - Sneakers - on that same day as well after taking 10,000 steps.

But wait, there's more! Before that first day ended, I received the Stuart Minions Badge after walking 12,345 steps. Cool!

I got my fourth badge - Urban Boot - a couple of days later when I took 15,000 steps in one day.

Towards the end of the first week, I got two more badges. The first one was the Marathon badge, which meant that I had walked 42 kilometers since I started using my Fitbit. Wow! I had walked an average of more than 8 kilometers a day on that first week!

Later that evening, I got another badge - High Tops - for taking 20,000 steps in just one day. Awesome!

To top it all off, a week later, I got another badge - Penguin March - which meant that I had walked 112 kilometers in total since I started using my Fitbit. Amazing!

I always knew that I walk a lot but I never knew I actually walked this much. Having my Fitbit tell me how many steps I've taken and how many kilometers I've covered is very encouraging. I'm really happy that I decided to buy a Fitbit, even if it isn't cheap. It has motivated me to get moving. Hopefully, I can get more badges in the near future and more importantly, improve my overall fitness.

Quarantine Stories Part 20

I got my UP UAAP basketball championship shirts! One of my classmates from college volunteered to place a bulk order for our group of friends. We had a choice of either maroon or black but I decided to get both. I was initially worried that the shirts might not fit but thankfully, they do! I can't wait to wear them!

My UP UAAP Basketball Championship shirts

I also went to Ayala Malls The 30th last month to visit Anyam Hablun, an exhibition of weaving arts by women of Sulu. This was a project of a good friend of mine. There were a lot of beautiful items, such as fabrics, malongs, bags, blazers, and even dresses. I ended up purchasing a couple of beautifully designed folding fans that I gave to my mom and my grandmother. A day after I visited, I asked my friend how much the bags were and if they still had fans that I could buy. She told me that all fans and bags were sold out. I later found out that almost everything in exhibit was sold! That's wonderful news, especially for the women of Sulu who created these crafts.

Anyam Hablun exhibit

Some sad news: Le Petit Souffle is closing. Ads popped up in my social media indicating that this restaurant was closing in mid-June. I really love the chocolate souffle here and while I told myself a couple of years ago that I would visit this place every so often to indulge in great desserts, I wasn't able to do that. As such, I made sure I visited Le Petit Souffle while it was still open. When I got there, they only had a limited menu. I decided to order a few items, including the French Onion soup which was at 50% off...

French Onion Soup from Le Petit Souffle

...and the Le Petit Souffle Carbonara Souffle (yes, that's the official name on the menu) which was served with a very fancy egg. (I didn't want to eat too much since I still had dessert so I only ate half of this dish and took home the other half.)

Le Petit Souffle Carbonara Souffle

Of course, I had to order my favorite Valrhona Guanaja Souffle and it was still such a quality dessert. Such a shame I won't have a chance to enjoy it again in the future.

Valrhona Guanaja Souffle

I'm also really happy that recently, I've been able to start exercising regularly again. It started when I got my Fitbit. There are daily targets, such as number of zone minutes (22), calories burned (2,700), number of steps (10,000), and distance covered (8.1 kilometers). I don't often meet the daily targets for number of steps and distance covered on days when I work from home, especially when I don't leave my pad. However, the zone minutes and the number of calories burned are much more achievable targets. I started using the Power Abs subscription that a friend of mine gave me last Christmas. It's about a 10-minute ab workout five days a week, although I probably get to do it only 3 or 4 times a week. However, since it's only a 10-minute workout, it's not enough for me to achieve my Fitbit targets. As such, I started supplementing my Ab workout with my Downdog app or with the dumbbells that I purchased late last year. I also looked up some zumba videos on YouTube and I started doing those routines to help improve my cardio. As a result, I've been able to exercise around 3 to 4 times a week for the last few weeks, which is the most I've been able to do in the last two years. The key now is for me to be able to maintain this. Wish me luck!

Nadal wins French Open Title #14!

I am in absolute awe. Rafa Nadal just won his the French Open for the 14th time! Way to go, Rafa!

Rafa-Garros 🇪🇸🏆 pic.twitter.com/0iC9GYREvt

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2022

By the numbers:

• His 14 French Open titles matches the total Grand Slam singles title count of Pete Sampras. Remember that up early 2009, 14 was the record for most major title won by a man.
• He now has 22 Grand Slam singles titles, extending the men's record that he held when he won at the Australian Open this year. He is now 2 major titles ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
• Rafa is 14-0 in French Open finals. Never losing a Roland Garros final is just mind-boggling, especially when you consider that he played two of the greatest players of all time (Roger and Novak) in the finals a total of seven times. (I guess the rule is, if you wanna beat Rafa at the French, do it before the final.)
  
• His win-loss record is 112 wins and 3 losses.
• This is also the first time in Rafa's career that he won the first two major events of the year. 

🇦🇺 🏆🏆
🇫🇷 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
🇬🇧🏆🏆
🇺🇸 🏆🏆🏆🏆@RafaelNadal | @rolandgarros | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/dGJucF9e3O

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 5, 2022

Before the tournament started, I thought his chances to win were slim. He injured his rib while playing Indian Wells that left him sidelined for several weeks. He returned to Madrid where he lost to an in-form Carlos Alcaraz. In Rome, his chronic foot problem resurfaced, leading to a fourth round loss to Denis Shapovalov. Meanwhile, Alcaraz won Madrid and Novak won Rome. With no title wins on clay leading up to Roland Garros and his key competitors were both doing very well, the odds seemed stacked against Rafa to win.

As it turned out, Rafa overcame Novak in 4 sets in the quarterfinals. He then faced Zverev in a titanic semifinal that featured many momentum swings. Rafa won the 91-minute first set in a tiebreak. The second set also went to tiebreak until a horrific ankle injury forced Zverev to retire.

In the final, Nadal won easily in straight sets against Casper Ruud, giving him a record-extending 14th Roland Garros title.

King of Clay x 14 👑@RafaelNadal remains undefeated in Paris finals, conquering Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 for a 14th title#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/GctcC17Ah8

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2022

Rafa is now tied with Steffi Graf, my all-time favorite player, as both have 22 majors. I also love that there is a picture Steffi at the Rafa Nadal Academy restaurant. (I hope I can visit this place one day and have my photo taken between Steffi and Rafa hahaha).

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A post shared by Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar (@rafanadalacademy)

Many are now wondering whether Rafa can win the Grand Slam (all four majors in a single year). His chances aren't that great, given that he hasn't won Wimbledon in twelve years and he hasn't reached a final since 2011. But if Rafa has proven anything in his career, and especially this year, is that you can never count him out. Whatever happens, Nadal has truly spoiled me and his millions of fans so much with his amazing records and his incredible accomplishments that anything else he achieves is icing on the cake.

On the women's side, Iga Swiatek lived up to her ranking and seeding as she won the French Open title for the second time. She is now on an amazing 35-match winning streak, which comes with 6 consecutive titles. The last time a player won this many matches in a row was when Venus amassed 35 straight matches in 2000, a whopping 22 years ago! Ever since Ash Barty retired, Iga has been the clear #1, playing head and shoulders above the rest of the field. 

Noticing a trend 😄#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/QZyS26qfw9

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2022

Congratulations, Rafa and Iga!

Final thoughts on my trip to Shangri-La Mactan

While my trip turned out great, it started out very rough. A couple of days before, I was notified that my return flight from Cebu to Manila was cancelled. Unfortunately, Cebu Pacific didn't move me to any other flight; instead, I was instructed to select a new one. The problem was there was no option to just replace the return leg. To rebook, I had to select both the flight to Cebu and the return flight to Manila. But because my flight to Cebu was just two days away, the flight costs were now very high. I decided that it would just be cheaper to book a new return flight (I could get one at about ~P3000) than to replace both legs because just the Manila to Cebu leg would cost me P5000 more than what I originally paid! I was later able to talk to someone from Cebu Pacific thanks to a friend who works there and I was told that I could have replaced my full flight without any additional cost. I said that it wasn't clearly indicated in the email notification that this was the set-up and I was afraid to cancel my original flight just a couple of days ahead of my trip. Thankfully, they converted my new purchase to a travel fund. Now I guess I just need to decide when I can travel again haha.

The other problem I had was that I couldn't check in online before my flight. I was worried that having two different flights, including one that had a cancelled leg, was causing problems. I decided to arrive at the airport 2 1/2 hours before my flight so that if there was a problem, I would have time to sort things out. Thankfully, there was no problem and my check-in was smooth. I'm guessing that because I got there very early, I was placed in an exit row. I was so happy that after my booking-related stress in the previous days, I had a lot more leg room to relax during my flight.

Extra leg room at the exit row during my flight to Cebu

This was my first trip since the pandemic started and also the first time I got on a plane in almost 3 years. I gotta say, it was strangely comfortable being at the airport.

My return flight was in the early evening on a Friday and since I checked out of Shangri-La Mactan at 3pm, I decided to go the airport about 2 1/2 hours earlier as well. (I wasn't sure how bad the traffic would be in Cebu during rush hour so I decided to arrive at the airport a lot earlier than needed.) Upon checking in, I requested to be seated at an exit row. Surprisingly, I was put in the front row of the plane. Wow!

Even more leg room at the front row of the plane on my flight back to Manila

A friend who saw some photos I shared said that she remembered the resort having more trees. Maybe Typhoon Odette brought down many of them. Another friend told me that she planned to visit Shang Mactan last February but it was still being renovated at that time. I'm guessing the resort must have just reopened to the public. I'm glad it was already operational by the time I went to Cebu.

I mentioned this in my previous post but once I checked in, I looked for a supermarket so I could buy supplies. Based on Google maps, there was supposed to be one about 500 meters away from the hotel. However, when I got to where it was supposed to be, I couldn't find it. I looked for the next nearest one and I saw that there was a Shopwise Express about a kilometer away. It was quite far but I started heading there anyway since it would be good exercise. Along the way, I spotted a 7-Eleven so I decided to shop there instead. I ended up going to that same 7-Eleven a couple of times during my trip.

The Promenade Mactan is practically across the street from Shangri Mactan. Each time I headed out the resort to buy supplies, I also passed by the Tom N Tom's at the Promenade to get coffee.

Breakfast at Tides restaurant

I also mentioned in my previous post that I bought wine from 32 Italian Deli and Kitchen which is also at the Promenade and that I got one with a screw cap bottle because I didn't have a corkscrew. I thought I would get to consume the whole bottle over my four nights at the resort but in the end I only drank about half of it. It wasn't expensive but I didn't want to throw it away. Because it had a screw cap, I decided to just take it home with me (I had some bubble wrap with me so I covered the bottle in bubble wrap) and placed it amidst my clothes to protect it from being broken.

Wine selection at 32 Italian Deli and Kitchen at the Promenade Mactan

I probably didn't drink as much wine as I thought I would because I drank a lot of decaf each night while reading my book. I brought some ground decaf with me as well as my plastic pour over dripper in the hopes that there would be an electric kettle in the room. And there was! I ended up enjoying decaf coffee each night I was there. Oh and if you're wondering why I drink decaf, it's because my doctor advised me a couple of years ago not to drink too much caffeine so I now have drink decaf in the evenings.

Shangri-La Mactan lobby at night

I initially thought about spending one day of my trip sightseeing and maybe enjoying local restaurants and doing a food trip. As it turned out, I didn't do that. I felt that it would cost too much for me to sightsee and eat out alone (if I was part of a group, we could all split taxi or Grab fares). Besides, I was having such a great time chilling at the resort and I wanted to maximize the limited time I had there.

Cultural show at Buko Bar

Since I didn't go out, I thought I thought of maybe buying pasalubong at the airport on my way home, specifically lechon and dried mangoes. I thought about getting lechon for my family but I knew that after 1 or 2 days, it wouldn't be as good anymore. Also, Rico's Lechon and Zubuchon are now available in Metro Manila so I had the option to buy lechon from those places instead. The dried mangoes at the airport also cost the same as dried mangoes at the supermarkets in Metro Manila. As such, I didn't buy any pasalubong from the airport anymore.

I'm really happy that things have gotten better pandemic-wise. While many other people have already been traveling quite a bit over the last couple of years, it's only recently that I considered going on a trip. I'm really happy that I did . As someone who loves traveling, this holiday at Shangri-La Mactan was exactly what I needed.