Dimash and his incredible voice!

I discovered Kazakh singer Dimash maybe about a year ago and I was blown away by fantastic, otherworldly voice. I came across this particular video just recently. His voice, his range, his control are truly spectacular. For me, he has one of the best voices in the world. Check it out.


video uploaded in youtube by Посольство Беларуси

Pixar's Coco

I missed Coco during its theatrical run but I heard and read such positive feedback about it that when it was shown on Fox Movies, I just had to watch it.  Now that I've seen it, I have to say it definitely lived up to the hype, if not exceeded it.

photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_(2017_film)

When publicity for Coco started coming out, I wasn't too keen on watching it because I felt it was too similar to the animated film The Book of Life that came out in 2014. Both were set in Mexico on the Day of the Dead and the lead characters in both films had guitars and were passionate about music. Given that The Book of Life was released 3 years before Coco, I felt that Pixar should've taken a different direction thematically.

However, the countless glowing reviews from just about everyone made me want to see it. Unfortunately, I missed its theatrical run in Manila. Thankfully, it was featured on Fox Movies. I now strongly agree with the general concensus because I think Coco is one of the best animated films I've seen so far.

The story is great and I love the twist that greatly changes the complexion and the urgency of the plot. Gotta say, I didn't see that one coming. Furthermore, the world of the dead in this film is beautifully created. The writing is excellent and compelling, enabling the audience to go through the same emotional journey that the characters are on. I was excited when Imelda finally started to sing again, I felt frantic when Miguel dropped Hector's picture, and I felt even more frantic and heartbroken when Miguel was trying to get his great grandmother Coco to remember her father.

The voice acting in this movie is also topnotch. While the adults were all remarkable, it was the voice actor of Miguel, Anthony Gonzalez (who was about 11 years old when he did his voice work for Coco), who was most outstanding. Considering he is so young, he delivered such an emotive, nuanced performance that helped carry the film. I'm not the only one who thinks so too, since Anthony won Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production at the Annie Awards. As if that wasn't enough, he sings really well too! And while we're on the subject, the music in Coco is great. While Remember Me won best song at the Oscars, I actually preferred Un Poco Loco and Proud Corazon (the song Miguel sings at the end) a lot more.

Coco is such a tremendously beautiful film. I think this may just make its way to my top ten animated films of all time.

Goodbye, Ludo Makati

Another sad moment for the Metro Manila board gaming community. Ludo: Boardgame Bar and Bistro in Makati is now closed. They shared this post on facebook a month ago:



My friends and I spent many fun evenings in Ludo Makati so we decided to play there one last time before it closed. While we normally play the games that are available there, this time around, we brought a couple of games with us, although we only got to play one of the games we brought: Radiers of the North Sea. Cla had been raving about this game so a lot of us were very interested to try it. In this worker placement game, you have Viking warriors and you try to gain the most points by raiding the most valuable settlements, increasing your military strength, and going up the Valkyrie track when your Vikings perish during raids. We got to play it twice that night. I won the first game and placed a close second in the next game (I lost by only 2 points). Thankfully, the game lived up to the hype and I enjoyed it. It's currently ranked 117 on BoardGameGeek so I guess many other people enjoy playing this game too.

Raiders of the North Sea

The other new game I got to play that night was Bärenpark. This is a tile-laying game where players try to build the best bear parks :). The tiles are of different shapes and sizes so the strategy involved is figuring out where on your park to place any of the tiles currently in your hand so that you get the tiles that you want that will fit and cover as much of the space left in your park. It's a cool, quick game and despite the fact that all of us had not played it before, we picked up on the gameplay quite quickly. In fact, we ended up playing it three times. I won on my third try, and it was a pretty good win because in the previous games, everyone completed their bear parks once end-game was triggered but in this last game, I was the only one able to completely fill my park. I ended up with the highest score of the night in that game - 107 - which was also the only time any of us breached 100. Cool! Cla has now gotten her own copy of this game so I am sure we will get to play this again.

Bärenpark

We started the afternoon with me teaching Kat how to play Sagrada  and we ended the night playing Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, another game I really like, I did my coffee plantation approach, which is the same thing I did the last time I played this game (also in Ludo). This must be a good approach because both times that I employed this strategy, I won. :)

It's too bad Ludo: Boardgame Bar and Bistro is now closed. I guess if I want another Ludo experience, I can gather my friends who are based in the North to play in their QC branch.

Manila Pen Staycation

After I stayed at Hotel Intercon a few years ago, I got reminded of the Peninsula Manila, or more popularly called Manila Pen, and how I used to stay there quite a bit. Not because I had lots of money to throw away LOL but because the company I worked for had a fantastic corporate rate with Manila Pen. In fact, I wasn't the only one who did this; many of my colleagues did the same. Anyway, I was looking for hotel rooms recently because I wanted to book a place for a game night I was hosting when I saw that Manila Pen had some good rates. While I didn't originally plan on booking a room here, after thinking about it for a few minutes, I decided to book a room here for a weekend staycation.

It's been such a long time since I stayed at the Manila Pen so my memory could be deceiving me but the room I booked seems to be a bit more modern than what I remember. I don't know if this is because they renovated in the last decade. In any case, the room looked really good.

My booking didn't include breakfast so I was initially toying with the idea of just paying for it but I think the buffet breakfast cost P1,600++ so I decided to just sleep in and skip breakfast altogether. :) I do remember enjoying the breakfast spread at the Manila Pen so maybe the next time I am there, I will make a booking that includes breakfast. I have to say that the lobby still remains one of the best hotel lobbies in Manila, with its very high ceiling, its spaciousness, the lighting, and the atmosphere. Every time I passed by the lobby, whether when I was checking in or out or heading out for dinner, it was full of people enjoying the hotel lobby service.

I found my weekend staycation at the Peninsula Manila to be very cozy, comfortable, and luxurious and the vibe in the hotel is still great. If I see a good deal online, maybe I might just book a room here again.

Que Jianyu Juggles and Solves 3 Rubik's Cubes!

Wow, I am lost for words. It's hard enough to solve a Rubik's cube under time pressure, much less three of them simultaneously. But to do so while juggling all three of them? I am absolutely blown away. This kid, Que Jianyu, is not only a genius, he is also extremely adroit with preternatural hand-to-eye coordination.

video uploaded in youtube by Guinness World Records

The interesting thing is that the Guinness World Record he got is for the fastest time to solve three Rubik's cubes while juggling them. Does that means other people can do it and have held the record before? I guess if this kid can do it, it's not hard to imagine there are at least a few other geniuses out there in the world like him. Gotta, I loved his reactions when he completed the task and then again when his Guinness World Record was confirmed. Congratulations, Que Jianyu!

Kanban, Grand Austria Hotel, and Other Games

One of the most interesting new board games recently is Kanban: Driver's Edition. This is one of the most complex games I had played in a while. The premise of the game is that you are a worker at a car assembly line company and you are looking to achieve the strongest results that will be noticed by plant manager and the board of directors. These results can be in the form of the number of cars, car part upgrades, and tested designs you have, certifications you've attained, and performance goals you've achieved.

Kanban: Driver's Edition

It's really quite complex since you need to keep track of so many things at the same time. I had to ask our game master to explain how to get tested designs and do upgrades on more than one occasion. So I was pretty shocked that I ended up winning since I didn't think I was being that competitive. I guess my strategy of getting as many tested designs as possible - even without knowing how they were scored LOL - and getting seats at the board and achieving many performance goals helped.

The Kanban board gives you an idea just how busy this game is

Kanban: Driver's Edition is from the same maker as The Gallerist - Vital Lacerda - and a friend of mine asked me whether I preferred The Gallerist or Kanban. I had to tell him that it at this point in time, it feels like I like Kanban more, but I'm not sure if it's because of the car theme, because I played it more recently, or because I won. That said, I do think The Gallerist is not as complex (although it is complex enough as it is) and I do like the premise of that one as well. I would definitely like to play Kanban again.

While we're on the topic, I also broke a promise I made to myself late last year: that I wouldn't any new board games until I had played 75% of the games and expansions I had. I hadn't reached that target quite yes - I have only played 2/3 of my games and expansions - but an opportunity presented itself that warranted this oath to be broken. Someone posted on a social media page I follow that he was selling three games at a steal price - Dinosaur Island, Grand Austria Hotel, and Super Motherload - and two of them were games that I really wanted to get. Grand Austria Hotel had been in my radar since last year and none of my friends have it. I also thought my other boardgaming groups would enjoy Dinosaur Island because of it's theme and its gameplay. As such, I decided to forego my promise to myself and get those games. The cool thing is that soon after I made this purchase, I got to play both Dinosaur Island and Grand Austria Hotel already.

My new games

While I had played Dinosaur Island before, I hadn't played Grand Austria Hotel yet so in our July game night, I read the rules and taught my friends (not very well, unfortunately) how to play. The object of this game is to run the most successful hotel by having the best and the most guests stay in your hotel rooms, hire the best staff, and achieve game objectives. I ended up in second place but I was happy that I got to have the most guests. It was the first time any of us played Grand Austria Hotel and I didn't explain the rules well enough so my friends said that we should play it again soon.

My hotel and staff in Grand Austria Hotel

The problem with getting new games is that it kinda opened the floodgates a bit. It didn't help that Ludo in Makati was closing so all games had 20% discount when paying with cash (and 10% with card). Because of this, I ended up getting a couple of new expansions as well -Scythe The Wind Gambit and Dungeon Petz Dark Alleys. With so many new games and expansions, I need to be a bit more disciplined and not get more of them LOL. Hopefully, I get to achieve my 75% target by the end of the year. :)

More Reunions

This year continues to be the year of reconnecting for me, and I'm very grateful for the many opportunities I've had to spend quality time with so many wonderful people. The biggest reunion I had this year was with the department I worked in in my second company. It was multiple generations of our department, but as I did work there for many years, I actually recognized majority of the people who were there. I hadn't seen many of them in more than a decade so it was tremendously satisfying to spend a wonderful evening catching up with many incredibly amazing people like Angel, Ces, Ella, Led, Afi, Vei, Romi, Benj, and many more. It was also the first time I got to see Kleng since she returned to Manila, despite a couple of attempts for us to meet up prior to that.

There was a smaller version of that reunion a few weeks earlier. Amy and Duncan were in Manila and they had very limited time to meet up with friends so they organized dinner one stormy night in BGC. I got stuck in bad traffic so I only made it for dessert. Not only did I get to catch up with both of them (and their kids who are now both really big), I also got to hang out with Shawie, Michelle, Marion, and Celle. I think the last time I hung out with Michelle and Marion was during team events. With Shawie, it was even longer, because it must have been when we were still working on the same project maybe 16 or 17 years ago. Wow!

I also had dinner with Kat, Sol, and Aren in Spatzle in Shang Mall. Aren requested that we meet in Shang Mall and I suggested Spatzle because it is one of my favorite restaurants there. The last time I saw Sol was more than a year ago - we both resigned on the same day - and I last saw Aren during the wedding of Auds and Primo a few years ago. It was a lot of fun hearing the new challenges each of us were facing since all of us were now working in different places. It was also really fun to hear Sol talk about her recent furniture purchases. :) I'm happy that the folks also enjoyed the food in Spatlze. I normally order the Roesti Complet when I'm there but that night, I ordered the Risotto con Maiale, which is creamy truffle risotto with crisp pork belly and asparagus. It was really good!

Risotto con Maiale from Spatzle

Not all my recent get-togethers were done over dinner, though. One of them, with my college friends, was done over brunch. Lala went to a wine sale and she took orders from many of us. She had a few boxes of wine so she suggested that we have brunch in Ortigas so everyone can get their orders. We had breakfast at Wildflour in Podium and it was good that Jed was able to join us because he had a flight that afternoon.

I also got to catch up with Krizel for coffee at UCC on a day that I didn't have work. It was funny because this was the second time we were having coffee together and each time, there are just so many stories to share before she had to go back to work that we always forgot to take a photo of ourselves. The cool thing was that after coffee/brunch with Krizel, I had dinner with AJ and Tin later in the evening. It had been more than a year since I had dinner with AJ and Tin and it's always great catching up with these two because there are always a ton of stories to share. AJ is getting married soon and she is really busy with the preparations so thankfully, we found a schedule that worked for all of us. Tin wanted to have dinner somewhere not too near her office so we ended up meeting in Little Flour, which is Wildflour's little sister. Funny how I ended up catching with two separate sets of friends in the "flour" sisters in a short period of time. :)

Finally, another brunch reunion. (Can you say Titos and Titas of Manila? LOL) Alvin was in Manila and was staying in the Rockwell area so he asked if anyone from our high school batch was free for brunch in that area. A few of us were so we joined him in Refinery. I see Joyce a lot and I've seen Elaine a few times over the last few years but I can't really remember the last time I saw Alvin so it must have been many years ago. We met at 10:30 and while Alvin had to leave at 1pm for another appointment, the rest of us hung out together until almost 2:30pm. There were some discussions about more plans that our high school batch has so I'm excited to see those plans brought to fruition.

Kitchen Sink Catastrophe

So I was pulling stuff out from the cabinet underneath my kitchen sink when I felt that it was warm inside. I wasn't quite sure why. That is, until I started moving things around and I noticed that a paper bag was soaking wet. It was at that point that I realized that there was a leak somewhere.  I immediately asked a plumber to take a look. When he checked my plumbing, he told me that the flexible hoses were leaking and that I had to replace them with new ones. It was late in the evening with no chance to buy the hoses until the next day so the plumber told me to just call again once I had the hoses.

The next day, I got the correct hoses from a hardware store and I asked the plumber to come back. However, it was a different guy who came (the one who visited me the previous night had already gone home that evening) so I had to explain to this new guy what the problem was. He said that it was only one of the two flexible hoses that had a problem so he replaced just the one and told me to keep the other as a back-up. I thanked him for his help.

A couple of hours later, I felt that my cabinet would already be dry enough for me to put back all the stuff in it when I notice that a puddle had formed underneath the hoses again. There was still a leak. I asked the plumber to come back and he said that the other hose was apparently also leaking. I hand him my second hose and he proceeded to remove the leaky one that was still currently installed to replace it.

Then, disaster. Apparently, the plumber didn't turn the water source off so as soon as he removed the defective hose, water started to come out of my plumbing, much like water coming out of a faucet that was fully turned all the way up. It badly drenched the bottom of my cabinet and very quickly, water started pouring outside the cabinet. The plumber initially stuck an empty water bottle underneath the nozzle and told me to hold it in place while he turned off the power source. Unfortunately, the water flow was so strong that the water bottle filled up really quickly. I swapped it with a bucket. After several seconds, the bucket was close to being filled when finally the water stopped flowing. To say that was stressful was a big understatement.

It was 11:30PM when this happened and while I was initially very thankful that the plumber was helping me late at night, I was now quite irate. After all, it should be in a plumber's standard operating procedure to make sure that the water source is shut down before trying to repair any plumbing problems. I now had to dry my cabinet and the surrounding areas at close to midnight on a week night instead of getting ready to go to bed. It was around 12:30am when I finished cleaning up but I was still in a pretty foul mood, which meant that I couldn't even sleep immediately.

The positive thing is that at least the leak in my kitchen sink has been repaired. I also ended up noticing quite a few items in my cabinet that I didn't need anymore so I ended up doing some decluttering and throwing out stuff I didn't need anymore. Still, it was quite an unpleasant experience in the middle of the week at a very inopportune time. Hopefully, I don't have any other similar problems in the near future.

MSJO win 1st place at the Summa Cum Laude Festival!

This is more than a week late but this piece of news made me very happy. The Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra (MSJO) returned to Austria this year to compete again at the Summa Cum Laude International Music Festival and they finished in First Place with outstanding success in the String Orchestra Category. Congratulations!



I became fans of the MSJO when I saw them perform last year. It was already an incredible honor that they represented the Philippines at this prestigious international festival so I felt that their second place finish in 2017 was already a massive achievement. Little did I know that a year later, they would go a step further by winning 1st place. Amazing!!!

My friend texted me late this afternoon asking me if I was interested to watch the performance of the MSJO and other orchestras at the CCP tonight but I wasn't available. It's been more than a year since I got to see them perform so I am hoping I can watch them again soon.

Congratulations again, Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra!

Wimbledon 2018

Wimbledon was incredibly interesting for many reasons. First, it marks the return of Novak Djokovic at the pinnacle of the tennis world, beating Kevin Anderson in straight sets in the final to claim his fourth Wimbledon title and his 13th Grand Slam singles title. He is now just one short of Pete Sampras' 14 majors, which is amazing because many thought that 14 would be an impossible record to break in our lifetimes. Now, both Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have gone past that mark and Novak is knocking on the door.

Back In The Winners' Circle❗️#Wimbledon🏆 No. 4
Grand Slam 🏆 No. 13
Tour-Level 🏆 No. 69

Novak Djokovic beats Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(3) to triumph at The Championships.

➡️ https://t.co/Isfm5bbYK2 pic.twitter.com/ehtkyVnZ4f

— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) July 15, 2018

Second, this Wimbledon featured the tightest and most competitive set of quarterfinals and semifinals on the men's side that I can recall. All four quarterfinal matches went 4 or 5 sets. As if that wasn't enough, both semifinals not only went 5 sets, they went beyond regulation. Novak beat Rafa 10-8 in the 5th while Kevin Anderson beat John Isner 26-24 (!!!) in the 5th set of a match that lasted more than 6 hours. The final was a bit anticlimactic but the quarterfinals and semifinals provided so much drama and excitement to make this major a very memorable one.

Third, the women's final also featured some amazing comebacks. After getting to the finals of 3 of the 4 majors in 2016, Angelique Kerber couldn't get beyond the semis in 6 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments - and in fact she didn't get past the 1st week at all the majors last year - and now, she overcame 7-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams in a rematch of the 2016 final which Serena won. Serena's run to the finals was also impressive and inspiring considering that this is only her 4th tournament back from giving birth (and it was a difficult birth for her too). Many people, including me, were expecting Serena to win but I guess she just didn't quite have the level of consistency that she needed to have. I guess that nerves and pressure were also a factor, since a win would have allowed her to tie the all-time Grand Slam record of 24 titles held by the legendary Margaret Court. Here's an interesting stat: Angelique Kerber becomes only the second woman in history to beat Serena Williams twice in major finals. Amazing.

#SAPStatOfTheDay @AngeliqueKerber is making her own history with her @Wimbledon title! @SAPSports pic.twitter.com/KxYsqprAjL

— WTA (@WTA) July 14, 2018

Fourth, Kevin Anderson. He reached his 2nd major final but his path was not easy by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it was so close to ending a couple of rounds earlier. When Roger Federer was up 2 sets to 0 and had a match point during their quarterfinal, I thought the match would be over. A few hours later, Kevin provided the biggest shock of the tournament by coming back from 0-2 and match point down to beat Roger 13-11 in the 5th set. As if that wasn't enough, his semifinal against John Isner ran all the way up to 26-24 in the 5th set in the longest semifinal and the second longest match at Wimbledon. In both cases, he was actually serving second in the final set, which is often viewed as a disadvantage mentally because the player is always playing catch-up and as such is always under just a bit more pressure. Kevin also now holds another record: he has played more games in a single Wimbledon - 332 - than anyone else in history.

Another lengthy record goes the way of Kevin Anderson...#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/tX9a3aGQKi

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 15, 2018

Still on Kevin, one of the most memorable points of the tournament came at the 49th game of the 5th set when Kevin fell to the ground after getting jammed by Isner's serve, picked up the racquet with his left (read: non-dominant) hand and hit a decent deep return that prevented Isner from attacking him. He eventually won that point. That he was able to do this after more than 6 hours of play is just mind-blowing. Check it out here.


video uploaded in youtube by Wimbledon

Fifth, I'm really happy that Rafa Nadal got to the semifinals. After getting to the final in 2011, he couldn't get beyond the 4th round in Wimbledon in the years that followed. That is, until this year. With Federer losing in the quarterfinals and Rafa getting to the semis, he increases his led at the top of the ATP rankings. I think he might remain at the top at least until the US Open. Cool.

Now, on both the men's and women's tour, we have different champions at each of the majors. Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, and Novak Djokovic won on the men's side and Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep, and Angelique Kerber won on the women's side. Will this trend continue at the US Open? We'll find out in a couple of months.

Unilab "Son"

This Unilab commercial entitled "Son" is one of my favorite advertisements ever.


video uploaded in youtube by UNILAB

I love this commercial for many reasons. The narrative is tremendously moving and it paints a realistic portrait of the challenges and even the loneliness that artists face. It is very well acted, the music is touching, and the artwork featured towards the end of the video is beautiful. I also love how it shows that while a parent's love and support for their children may seem unappreciated, it does make a difference.

National Bookstore Project Aral

Earlier this month, I swung by National Bookstore to buy a couple of supplies. As I was paying for my purchases, the cashier asked me if I wanted to make a Project Aral donation.

The donation is in the form of a care package. There are 2 options: the first kit includes two notebooks, two pencils, a sharpener, and an eraser and costs P30 while the second kit contains those same items plus a pair of slippers for P60. I decided to get the second kit since I felt that many underprivileged kids walk to school barefoot and a pair of slippers seemed like a good idea.

This project seems to be all-year round although the kits are probably only displayed in National Bookstore branches shortly before a new school year starts. You can still make a donation through the NBS website: https://www.nationalbookstore.com/project-aral-2018. I'm not sure how many donations have been made but I did see a tweet from NBS that "over 28 schools and 6,000 students in Tawi-tawi" received Project Aral kits. That's amazing.

Thanks to you, over 28 schools and 6,000 students in Tawi-tawi have received #ProjectAral kits. Keep making children across the Philippines smile and have a great back to school by donating. pic.twitter.com/yRnUT2edaq

— National Book Store (@nbsalert) June 16, 2018

I realized when I left that maybe I should have made a bigger donation but another opportunity presented itself shortly after that. My friend Zaza volunteered for a project that was trying to raise funds to buy books and school supplies for schools of indigenous peoples in the Philippines. I decided to make a donation through her and when she shared everything that their team was able to buy and donate to the schools and the students, I was amazed at how much they were able to raise and how many people they were able to help.

These recent donations have made me want to be more active in volunteer work again. There are still so many people in the country and in the world who need help and so many causes that need more support.

Movie watching in June

Incredibles 2

Photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incredibles_2

The Incredibles is one of my favorite animated films so when this sequel was announced, on the one hand I was excited to see what would happen but on the other hand I also had a bit of trepidation that this second outing wouldn't live up to the greatness of the first. Thankfully, it did. In fact, I find it to be a perfect sequel in that its story integrates seamlessly and effortlessly with the first. In fact, I feel that if you watch both movies one after the other, it would be like you're watching just one film. The script and the characters are all very well-written. Jack-Jack proves to be a bit of a star here but everyone has their moments, including the very cool Edna Mode. I also loved the introduction of many new heroes and the fight scenes and action sequences are very well-choreographed and executed. Considering that I watched so many good movies already this year, this might just be close to, if not at, the top of my list of favorite films I've seen in 2018.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_World:_Fallen_Kingdom

I am, and will always be, a sucker for dinosaur films so I made sure to see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom even if it wasn't getting very good reviews. The movie takes the moral question of the creation of life to another level with the impending destruction of Isla Nublar and the debates as to whether the dinosaurs should be saved or left to perish. Aside from that, the story is pretty simple: sell dinosaurs for indecent amounts of money and create even more monstrous, genetically-engineered ones. For the most part, I really enjoyed the movie, although I will say that the greater moral dilemma about genetic engineering that is tackled towards the end of the movie was, for me, a bit out of place (I mean, it's a very good topic for discourse, except I wasn't expecting it in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom).

Eden Cheese: Drayber

I remembered this video because it was Father's Day last Sunday. I saw it a while back and I was moved by it for many reasons. It's a commercial for Eden Cheese entitled "Drayber" and I think it was released last year.


video uploaded in youtube by Eden Cheese PH

What I liked about this ad was how it pays homage to single mothers who also take on the role of father to their children. But beyond that, I was tremendously moved by its vivid imagery of how life is for many people who are not born into privilege. The mother has taken on many jobs, all of which require a lot of physical, mental, and emotional energy, just to make ends meet. She then comes home to her children who prepare a special meal for her: giniling that is made even more special by cubes of Eden cheese added to it. It was that scene that actually hit me. To many people, giniling is a regular meal that they can easily have on any given day. And here, this family prepares giniling as a celebration dinner. It just makes you realize that many things we take for granted are things that are very special and of great value to many others.

I'm not sure how this family came to become a single-mother family. If you look at 0:09 of the video, you will see a picture that seems to include the father so I don't know if he passed away, left them, or if his absence is due to some other reason. In any case, I found it tremendously heartwarming to see the great love this family had for each other. I stupidly ended up looking through the comments section and saw so much vitriol spewed against this ad - from homophobic remarks to anger that it wasn't a real father who was being celebrated in this video. In my opinion, those people seemed to have missed the point of what I thought was a very well-made commercial. Kudos to Eden Cheese and the advertising team for creating and releasing this commercial.

French Open #11!

Congratulations Rafa Nadal for winning the French Open for a mind-blowing 11th time! He just keeps on adding on to the records he holds and it is just incredible to witness. Rafa just refuses to relinquish his throne as the King of Clay.

It never gets old, does it @RafaelNadal?

The King of Clay captures his 11th Roland-Garros title 6-4 6-3 6-2.

Rien n'arrête Rafa ! 11e titre pour l'Espagnol ici à Roland-Garros et son 57e titre sur terre-battue.

👉 https://t.co/xP28FRO671 pic.twitter.com/UzI4tcyikb

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 10, 2018

Let's break down just how phenomenal Nadal's win is:

• Rafa is now in a tie with Margaret Court for the most titles won in a single Grand Slam tournament (Court won the Australian Open 11 times).
• Rafa now has 17 major titles. A decade or so ago, it seemed unlikely if not impossible for a male player to get close to the singles Grand Slam count of tennis legends Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. Now, Federer has passed them and Rafa is just one shy of tying them. Amazing.
• His record at the French Open is 86 wins and 2 losses. That is just unreal.
• By defending his title, he retains the ATP #1 ranking.
• He has now won three tournaments eleven times. No other male player has won an event 11 times and now Rafa has achieved this three times.

Given the way that he is playing now, barring any injury, I think he still has a good chance to add more Roland Garros singles titles in the future. Many people thought would not be able to stay at the top of the game for too long given how physically exhausting his playing style is but he has continued to defy the odds and show the world the importance of passion and hard work.

*****

I am also happy that Simona Halep finally shakes off the "best player never to have won" a Grand Slam title by coming from behind to beat Sloane Stephens in three sets in the final. She lost three Grand Slam finals - 2 of them at the French Open in 2014 and in 2017  and one at the Australian Open earlier this year - so I was rooting for her to win. By beating Garbine Muguruza in the semifinals, she also ensured that she would remain #1.

Words can’t describe how happy the last 24 hours have been for me. I’ve read so many messages & social media posts that’ve brought tears to my eyes that I can’t thank you enough. Sorry for a few bumps along the way 🤷‍♀️🙄 but we finally got there!☺️💪 Lots of love, Simo ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Rzvs6fzN1Y

— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) June 10, 2018

That said, my second favorite moment in Roland Garros (Rafa's win was obviously my favorite) was seeing Nicolas Mahut's son run on court and jump into Nicolas' arms to celebrate the doubles title that Mahut won with his partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert. It is just such a beautiful moment:

🤗 and 😘@p2hugz @nmahut #RG18 pic.twitter.com/R5QJmOtHzv

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 9, 2018

Congratulations to all the French Open winners!

Airbnb find in Tagaytay: Casa dlF

My friends and I initially planned to have an out-of-town overnight trip last December but it didn't push through because people's schedules were tight. I suggested we instead head out of town during the summer so last March, I revived that plan and I started looking for venues in Airbnb that could comfortably house our entire group. I then saw Casa dlF, a 3-storey Rest House in Tagaytay. The pictures in their Airbnb listing looked very interesting and it looked like the place had more than enough room to house a group our size so I shared it with my friends and everyone thought it was a good idea. I decided to book it immediately.

When we got there, I have to say that our already high expectations were exceeded. The place is beautiful! My friend's daughter even said that she was very happy that we chose this place. Cool! For the first half hour or so of me being there, I think I just kept going around all three floors plus the rooftop taking photos (I ended up taking more than a hundred over that weekend LOL).

The place is also huge! The second floor was already very spacious and there are three floors. There are also many windows and the doors allow lots of light to come in. The first and second floors had two doors each, and we kept them open to allow the fresh Tagaytay air to come in.

As if the space of the common areas wasn't enough, even the bedrooms were big. Each room has multiple beds. The 2nd floor alone can probably house up to 20 people. (There are two more bedrooms on the 1st floor and another one on the 3rd floor. Up to 30 or so people can actually stay overnight here). All rooms are air-conditioned and each one has its own bathroom.

While the second floor common area has a bit of a more "normal" design, the ground floor common area showcases more of the Moorish inspiration. There are more seating options here, both inside and outside. I also think it's pretty cool that there is a fountain at the center of the room.

The first floor seating areas are very plush and are decorated with colorful and intricate tapestries and fabrics.

Adding more personality and uniqueness to the ground floor is the bathroom, which has walls that are covered in irregular glass pieces. We didn't get to use it but it was really very interesting. :)

To go up and down the three floors, you can choose to use the indoor stairs or the outdoor steps. All of them are decorated with beautiful tiles.

The primary attraction of the third floor is the very big veranda. We spent a lot of time lounging about here in the afternoon. My friend also played board games with the kids using the huge table at the center of the space. The 3rd floor is also the only place in the house where you can get a good mobile signal.

You can head up to a section of the rooftop via a metal staircase. There are some pretty awesome views of the gardens and greenery from there.

You can also see the Moorish-inspired dome that is directly on top of the indoor staircase.

The multi-colored windows allow light to come in to illuminate the stairs. Inside the dome is this very interesting decorative art piece.

Casa dlF doesn't have WiFi and the mobile signal is weak except on the 3rd floor. There is a TV somewhere according to the info on their Airbnb listing but we didn't use it. As such, this is a perfect place for groups to hang out to enjoy each other's company. Given its size, I would say it is also ideal for large families or groups of friends that are traveling to Tagaytay together (e.g. for an outing or to attend a wedding). There is also a lot of parking.

When I shared a picture on social media, I got a few questions from people asking for the details of this place. It really is very photogenic, both during the day and at night.

I have to say, apart from being big and beautiful, this place has so much personality and charm. After taking a ton of photos, I realized I didn't get to take one with me in it so before we left, I had to address that situation. :)

While renting this place is not cheap for small groups, it does become quite affordable for bigger groups (15 and up). I definitely recommend staying here, and maybe my friends and I (or even a different set of friends) will get to book this amazing house again in the future.

Casa dlF - a 3-storey Rest House in Tagaytay
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5033810

Solo: A Star Wars Story

My streak of watching Star Wars films on opening night or during advanced screening continues as I got to see Solo: A Star Wars Story on opening night. This streak goes all the way back to 2002 when Attack of the Clones came out. In fact, from Attack of the Clones all the way to Rogue One, I always got to see the midnight advanced screening. Too bad they stopped this practice starting with The Last Jedi. Of all the Star Wars films that have come out, Solo was probably the one I was least excited to see. With all the main films, I wanted to see how the story would develop. And with Rogue One, I was curious to see how the rebellion would manage to get the blueprints of the first Death Star. However, this latest movie was a backstory of Han Solo. That said, it is a Star Wars film and any Star Wars film will always excite me enough to want to watch it as soon as I possibly can. :)

photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solo:_A_Star_Wars_Story

Spoiler alert: please stop reading if you don't want to know anything about the movie.

So what did I think of the film? I am quite happy that this was a relatively light and mainly feel-good film. The last two - Rogue One and The Last Jedi - were both quite heavy, with some deaths and near-deaths of some critical characters in the Star Wars saga. While Solo starts off with a bit of a tragedy, the general tone of the film was quite upbeat.

Friends of mine who watch the Clone Wars animated series said that fans of that show will appreciate Solo a lot more due to the many Clone Wars references. I personally don't watch the Clone Wars (maybe I should) but I still found the film to be quite enjoyable. I liked seeing how Han and Chewbacca became friends. I also loved that train action sequence, although the early departure of Thandy Newton's character Val was a bit unfortunate. It was exciting to see Darth Maul again but  I had to think about the implication of his appearance. When exactly was he supposed to have died? It was when Anakin was a kid so Han wouldn't have been born yet so if this was decades after he was cut in half, how did he survive? I also like how they showed Han winning the Millennium Falcon in a game of cards and how his relationship with Lando was established. I also love how the lead pirate was a child. Seeing her face when she took off her headgear was quite surprising. I loved that Warwick Davis was there! Warwick played the ewok Wicket in Return of the Jedi. Another cool thing about the movie is how it shows Han not being officially aligned with the rebellion yet somehow still helping them, which is the same thing that happened in A New Hope. I also though that Alden Ehrenreich did quite well, considering that he had to play an iconic character who was brought to life by the one-of-a-kind Harrison Ford. The one down side for me is how C-3PO and R2-D2 didn't seem to be in this film. (Either that or I just missed them.) If they weren't, then this is the first Star Wars feature film that didn't have the 2 droids in it.

All in all, Solo: A Star Wars Story is a lot of fun to watch and cool addition to the Star Wars franchise.

The Lost Bread

I've been going to Megamall a bit more frequently recently. On another trip there, I yet again wanted to try a restaurant that I hadn't tried before. So when I passed by The Lost Bread and saw that it had both savory meals and a lot of desserts, I knew I had to try this place.

I believe this restaurant is primarily a dessert place but it does feature four "Affordabowls": Sriracha Chicken, which is apparently their bestseller, Truffled Sisig, Sinigang Sukiyaki, and Beef Tapa. I initially wanted to try the Sriracha Chicken but I was told it was really spicy. I could ask them to make it only mildly spicy but I was worried the spiciness would ruin my taste for dessert after so I decided to go with the Sinigang Sukiyaki (P168) instead. This fusion dish is like a deconstructed sinigang with the beef having a bit of a creamy texture and served with the usual sinigang vegetables on top or rice that is prepared risotto-style, steeped in sinigang soup. I do think the rice was steeped in too much sinigang soup though, I would have liked it to be less soggy. But flavor and concept-wise,  it was a good dish (and affordable too).

Sinigang Sukiyaki Affordabowl (P168)

They don't serve normal soda drinks but they do have their own special sodas. I decided to try That Peachy Bum (P140). It was light and refreshing.

That Peachy Bum soda (P140)

I was initially planning to try their Sub-Zero ice cream, with its interesting blue color, but when I saw a variety of shakes, I decided to go with that instead. I went with their Bonfire Baby Overshake (P140), which seems to be a S'mores-inspired shake with its torched marshmallows, and graham cracker dust. Conceptually it seemed really good but I actually found it a tad sweet. (It's called a baby overshake because it is smaller than their regular-sized premium overshakes.)

Bonfire Baby Overshake (P140)

While I did think that two of the items I ordered that might had room for improvement, I am actually still interested to revisit this place and try the other items on their menu. Maybe next time I will be a bit more adventurous and try their Sriracha Chicken (mildly spicy version) and partner it with a Sub-Zero ice cream. If (when?) I do, I will write about it again.

The Lost Bread is located on the 4th floor of the SM Megamall Fashion Hall. They have another branch in StrEat Maginhawa Food Park.

My first Ippudo experience

I finally got to try Ippudo, which is reputed to be one of the best ramen places in the Philippines. I was able to try it because I was in Megamall one evening and while thinking of where to have dinner, I decided to eat at a place I hadn't tried before. Thankfully, when I got to Ippudo, there were still available seats.

I decided to go basic with my first even ramen order by selecting the Shiromaru Tamago which is Ippudo's original tonkotsu broth with ultra-thin noodles and topped with pork belly and pork loin and salted soft boiled egg.

I actually also ordered the Pork Bun which is pork belly with Ippudo's special sauce and Japanese mayonnaise. I forgot to take a photo of it though because I was so hungry that I ate it as soon as it was served. I kinda think that it was easy enough for me to get a seat because I got there in the late evening so most people might have already finished eating by that time. (Despite this, the place was still pretty packed when I ate there.)

While I did enjoy my food, I do think that from a ramen standpoint, I actually like Ramen Nagi better. I also like Ikkoryu better, at least when it was new (I kinda think the quality of the broth in Ikkoryu sort of deteriorated since it first opened in Manila). The pork bun was also good but I actually like the Kakuni Buns of Ramen Bar. I don't think there is still a Ramen Bar in the Philippines since I haven't seen a Ramen Bar in ages but I actually loved their Kakuni Buns and I always ordered it with my ramen when I ate there before.

New TV

When I visited my family last Sunday, my mom asked if I was going to the mall because she wanted to get a new TV. Apparently, one of our two TVs at home - and the last remaining working picture tube TV we had - finally conked out. Now normally, when an appliance breaks down, you have it repaired. However, this was a picture tube television, which is pretty much obsolete. To have it fixed would probably cost as much as, if not more than, an inexpensive new TV. So it just made better sense to get a new one. Thankfully, there are a few inexpensive but decent brands now.

I ended up getting a Skyworth LED, which is the same brand that I got for my grandmother a couple of years ago. While the plan was to replace the broken TV on the 2nd floor, we realized that the new one I got is a bit bigger than the one we had in the living room. I left it to my family to decide whether they would set up this new TV in the living room or on the 2nd floor. I guess I'll find out what they decided to do when I visit again this weekend.