Family Celebration at Raging Bull

My mom celebrated a milestone birthday and my brother also just turned a year older. To celebrate, I took my family to Raging Bull Chophouse in Shangri-La The Fort. I first tried the steak here back in 2019 and I told myself then that I would return. I also wanted my family to try this place but it is very expensive. Since it was my mom's milestone birthday and my brother's birthday, it seemed like the perfect time to splurge at a really good venue.

The 1.6 kilo WX Tomahawk Wagyu

I was really happy that my grandmother joined us. Prior to the pandemic, whenever my family would go out, she would almost always decline (I think because she felt it was too tiring). However, now that she lives with us, I feel like she finds it easy enough to come with us when we go out for meals. (That, and maybe she has a bit more energy now that she doesn't live alone.) Sadly, one of my nephews couldn't join us because he wasn't feeling well. Thankfully, it wasn't Covid (his RT-PCR test was negative).

I told my family that I would order steak for everyone to share so they just had to choose side dishes and drinks. I knew I wanted to order the 1.6 kilo WX Tomahawk Wagyu but I knew this would not be enough for my family. Since I was already in a spending mood, I decided to get the Black market MS5+ 270 days Grain fed Rare Marbled Pure Black Angus Ribeye and the Tajima MS 6 grain-fed Wagyu Striploin. My toddler nephew likes chicken so I also got the Herb-brined Slow-roasted Free Range Chicken. Everyone really enjoyed the food! The service was also topnotch, making our dining experience here pretty awesome. (I took pictures of all our steaks but the one I took of the striploin was really blurry so I decided not to share it.)

Black market MS5+ 270 days Grain fed Rare Marbled Pure Black Angus Ribeye

As it turned out, I over-ordered. We weren't able to consume the tomahawk and the chicken so we took the leftovers home (at least my sick nephew was also able to try the steak). I'm really happy that I got to to enjoy a fantastic meal with my family. Hope we get to do this more often.

Long Weekend Gone Awry

Monday was a holiday so my plan for the long weekend was to rest and recharge, catch up on my to-watch lists on Netflix and HBO Go, and maybe even read a book. Unfortunately, it turned into a sequence of really bad events that made my long weekend even more stressful than normal work days. Ugh. Exactly what happened?

1. My bathroom wall tiles started falling off. I noticed that there was a problem a few weeks back when a crack appeared. I felt that maybe it was caused by the pressure and vibration from the construction going on at the apartment above mine (and maybe made even worse by the earthquake in late July). Anyway, on Friday night, as I was taking a shower, several tiles starting falling off, leaving a sizeable section of my wall "bald". What's worse is that there is an even bigger crack now, which could lead to the entire wall just collapsing. As such, I spent a significant amount of time last Monday going to the different home depots in Metro Manila to look for tiles. Despite many hours of doing this, I didn't find a tile that I liked (size-wise and looks-wise). I decided to drive to Mariwasa in Pasig in the late afternoon but when I got there, it was closed. I'm not sure if it was closed because it was a holiday or if I missed its opening hours. Needless to say, it was a waste of a trip.

2. My building access card stopped working. All residents in the building where I live need an access card to go to their floor and their parking floor. On Saturday, I realize my card wasn't working anymore. As a result, I had to keep asking our lobby guard to help me. This was not an issue if I was at our lobby needing to go up to my unit. However, in cases where I was in my unit and heading down to my parking floor, I would have to pass by the lobby first to ask for their help to get to my parking floor. That made it extremely difficult for me when I was bringing a lot of stuff from my apartment to my car (which I had to do a few times during the weekend). That this happened during the long weekend meant it was such a bad hassle for me for a few days. It was only on Tuesday that I finally got to replace my access card (which I had to pay for).

3. I had to deal with my family's internet and cable issues. It started when my nephew told me that they had been struggling with their internet speed at home. Since I manage their internet and cable, I decided to call Sky Cable to increase the speed. I selected the highest SKY Fiber Unli Broadband + HD Cable TV plan, which meant a significant increase in our internet speed but a reduction in our channels. (We would lose AXN, our favorite channel, so I had to ask Sky to add the AXN pack to my subscription.) I was on the phone for a really long time before the changes were update was completed. However, for some reason, some channels that should still have been part of our line-up, such as HBO, Warner TV, and Dreamworks, were not appearing. What?!? I had to call Sky Cable again a few times but despite that, the channels were still missing. That, and the our internet speed at home hadn't improved yet. Ugh, what a nightmare! The customer service agent told me to just monitor the cable and internet speed over the next 24 hours to see if all issues would be resolved. Unfortunately, the next day, the missing channels had still not appeared. I called Skycable again to ask for someone to visit us and see what the problem was. (Thankfully, the missing channels finally reappeared and our internet speed did increase later that day, but not after a lot of stress.)

4. I lost some receipts that I need to reimburse. I set aside some receipts that I placed in an empty letter envelope but during the long weekend, I couldn't find them anymore. I spent a couple of hours cleaning up my apartment to see if I might have placed the receipts under piles of random junk but they didn't turn up. I wonder if I might have thrown them away accidentally.

The fact that all this happened after a very difficult couple of weeks at work didn't help. Maybe it's time for me to take another vacation.

Reunions Galore

I've had a few reunions and get-togethers with good friends over the last few weeks. The first was with my English friend (and ex-colleague) David. He messaged me recently saying he would be in Manila and wanted to meet up. It had been a few years since I last saw him so I definitely made sure I blocked off one evening for him. He was staying in BGC and wanted to have Asian food for dinner so I suggested Mango Tree. He also wanted to catch up with some of our other ex-colleagues. I messaged a few of them and the ones who were in Manila joined us. It turned out to be bit of a reunion for me as well since I also hadn't seen some of those folks in years. Over dinner, David said that he wanted to try Bank Bar, the hidden bar behind the 7-Eleven at RCBC so after our meal, we walked over to RCBC to have a few (many?) drinks there. Interestingly enough, most of us had never been to Bank Bar before so it turned out to be a first for most of us.

Bank Bar

Shortly after that, my Jay was in town. He started working out of the country right before the pandmic struck so it's been maybe two and a half years since I last saw him in person. We had dinner at Bistro Madrid in Estancia. Most of our friends couldn't join us but a few of us made it. I am familiar with a couple of good wines at this place because I had dinner there a few months ago and my friends ordered wine - Simonsig Pinotage - that I really liked. Wines here are sold at 15% off every Sunday so when I know I need good wine, I would pass by this place on Sunday evenings to buy some. I've tried a few bottles, including Fabre Montmayou which I also really liked. I recommended these wines to my friends that night and thankfully, they enjoyed them too.

Later that week, I met up with Mai and several of our college friends. Mai has been based in the US for a while now so it had also been many years since I last caught up with her. Our friend Mitch suggested that we just have our get-together at her place so that it would be more comfortable and private. We definitely did a lot of catching up that night and our conversation went from the intellectual to the inane haha.

We had more of those crazy conversations a week later when our other college friend Val was in Manila. It's too bad that she and Mai weren't here at the same time. The last time I saw Val was about 10 years ago! She said that she wanted Filipino food for dinner so I suggested a few places where we could order local dishes. Based on the menu options, my friends went with FoodTray2Go, which is one of my go-to places when buying food for my family during weekends.

While a lot of my get-togethers were reunions with people I hadn't seen in years, I also met up with a couple of sets of friends for birthday celebrations. My ex-colleagues Joh and Pia celebrated their birthdays together and treated the group for lunch at A Mano in Rockwell. I had eaten there once before. My favorite dish is the Cacio E Pepe. For Joyce's birthday, we celebrated by ordering food from The Creamery, which is one of the places I order food for special occasions. The Braised Beef Shortribs with Hungarian Sausage in Garlic Paprika Sauce was a big hit. In fact, the people enjoyed it so much that they said we should order it again in our next get-together. Cool!

Quarantine Stories Part 22

Another Fitbit achievement unlocked: I got a Hawaii badge. This means that I have walked the entire length of the Hawaii archipelago, a total distance of 563 kilometers, which means I'm averaging 7.5 km per day. I think that's pretty amazing!

New Fitbit badge: Hawaii

Speaking of gadgets, I bought a Chromecast for my family so my family can watch more shows. I have an IWanTFC subscription that I don't get to maximize and I realized that my grandmother would enjoy watching a lot of shows on this platform. Unfortunately, there is no IWanTFC app that I could find in my family's Smart TV and I wasn't quite sure how to set it up on the TV's browser. So during the recent Lazada sale, I purchased a Chromecast from the Spoyl online store. I got it very soon after I ordered it and set it up. Now, my grandmother is able to benefit from my IWanTFC subscription. Cool!

New discovery: Bulla Neopolitan Ice Cream. I was looking for an ice cream flavor for my family but I wanted to get something new. I saw this brand and this flavor and I wasn't quite sure what it was. However, the description at the back of the container said that it was "all your favorite flavors." I decided I couldn't go wrong with that so I bought one haha. I found out what it meant when I finally opened the lid. It contains three flavors: strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate. Something for everyone, perfect! It's also really nice and creamy. I am definitely buying this again.

Bulla Neopolitan Ice Cream

I also rediscovered Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen recently. I used to enjoy this restaurant many years ago but I barely ate there over the last few years because I felt that the quality of the broth diminished. However, I passed by this ramen place again recently and saw that their most inexpensive ramen is now only P235 (it was P380 back in 2014). What?? Are they serious? That was enough to entice me to eat there. While Mendokoro is my absolute favorite ramen, Ikkoryu becomes a favorite again with its very affordable price and good-enough flavor. I look forward to eating here again on a more regular basis. 

Ajitama Tonkotsu Ramen from Ikkoryu Fukuoka

My board game group decided to switch back to virtual gaming due to the recent rise of Covid cases. While we played some online board game versions, we also played a few Jackbox games, including The Devil and the Details. I hadn't played this game before and honestly, I didn't understand how it worked for the first few (many?) minutes. I was so lost haha but when I finally figured it out, I realized it is actually a lot of fun. I think I ended up in last place but I did win an award: Helicopter Parent. Apparently, I performed the most blocks of people who were performing selfish tasks. This award is so me hahaha.

The Devil and the Details on Jackbox

Oh and you can also buy a mug:

The Devil and the Details Mug

And while we are talking about Covid surges, I had a bit of a Covid scare myself. On a recent Sunday, my throat felt a bit scratchy. I figured I was just tired but I started to worry a bit when my throat started to feel worse as the day progressed. I tried using my antigen test kits at home that evening but the two tests I applied both failed (no red lines came up). I decided to sleep it off, hoping that my throat would feel better the next day. Unfortunately, it didn't. I immediately reached out to a home service lab to schedule an RT-PCR test. Thankfully, they were able to visit me that same morning.  My results came in that evening and they were negative. Whew! I was so happy that I didn't contract Covid again. I still haven't gotten a second booster but I hope I can get one soon.

Spider-Man: No Way Home and Other Netflix Shows

I finally got to watch Spider-Man: No Way Home! It became available on Netflix on July 13 and it premiered on AXN on July 17 so I watched it on both platforms haha. The film had its global theatrical release in December 2021 but I didn't get to see it in the movie theaters; I think it was supposed to be shown in the Philippines in January 2022 but that was the time that we had a massive Omicron surge so I can't recall now if cinemas were closed. In any case, I'm really happy that it finally made its way to online streaming platforms and cable TV. The thing I regret about not getting to watch Spider-Man: No Way Home when it premiered globally was that I didn't get to experience the big reveal: Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield both appeared in the film! There was so much talk about both of them reprising their roles as Spider-Man but in the months leading up to the film's release, Andrew Garfield kept denying that he was in the movie so I started to doubt the rumors. I normally don't like spoilers but since there was no clarity as to when the movie would be shown in the Philippines, I actually searched as many spoilers as I could find online and I found out that Andrew and Tobey were indeed in the movie. Yay! I've seen a lot of reaction videos online where audiences cheered wildly when both Andrew and Tobey appeared onscreen so it's too bad I couldn't experience that. But at least I've seen the movie now (a few times already, in fact) and I did enjoy it.

Spider-Man: No Way Home on Netflix

I also completed the 5 seasons of Kim's Convenience. I wasn't familiar with this show but it appeared as a recommendation on Netflix and I decided to add it to my list. Initially, I thought it was just okay. However, a few episodes into the first season and I realized I started to connect with the characters a lot and I became invested in the series. Each episode is only about 20 minutes long and because it's a comedy, it's really easy to watch. I would watch a few episodes each day, often before I went to bed. The sad thing is that Kim's Convenience ended prematurely. It was renewed for a 6th season but I discovered online that the creators of the show decided not to proceed with it because they wanted to work on other projects. Which was a shame because the Season 5 finale opened the door for some really interesting storylines. It really left me wanting for more. Despite the abrupt ending that came with a lot of unresolved loose ends, I really enjoyed this show.

Kim's Convenience on Netflix

Another show I finished recently was Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. The show pitted challengers against the Iron Chefs and the challenger who won their battle and got the highest score during the preliminary rounds would face all five Iron Chefs in the finale. If he or she won that battle, he or she would be hailed as an Iron Leged. Chef Esther Choi earned the chance to claim this title by beating Marcus Samuelson and getting a score of 86, which was the highest score achieved by all challengers during the preliminary rounds. In the finale, she lost by the slimmest of margins against five Iron Chefs who each had to prepare only one dish so major props to her. I've always enjoyed this show - I remember watching the original Japanese series even if I couldn't understand what they were saying -  so I'm glad that Quest for an Iron Legend is now on Netflix. There's talk of a season 2 so I am looking forward to that.

Iron Chef: Quest for  an Iron Legend

Final thoughts on my visit to Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar

After being stuck in Metro Manila for two years due to the pandemic, I'm happy that I am now able to travel. This trip to Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar in Bataan was the first time that I drove out of Metro Manila. One of the things that surprised me was that Las Casas is actually a beach resort. I guess this is because every photo I've seen of this resort before was of the beautiful colonial Philippine-style buildings and never of the beach.

This was also the first time that I got to use my Easy Trip RFID. I was worried that maybe it might not work since it was set up almost two years ago but thankfully, it did. I actually forgot that the card also comes with a P200 load so I put a bit too much money in it. I guess that just means I need to go on another road trip via NLEX soon.

Las Casas is a beautiful resort and it is very photogenic. That said, it does come with some challenges that you need to be aware of and ready for if/when you decide to say here. The first is check-in. The guard at the entrance did give me instructions: I should drive to the reception are, check in, then drive back out to leave my car at the parking lot because parking inside is not allowed. That said, I didn't know where the reception was so I ended up driving my car inside the resort. I thought I needed to go to the hotel area to check in there but as it turned out, reception was actually in the building right inside the entrance. I was probably the only person who stupidly drove all the way inside the resort because I got a lot of strange and surprised looks from the people inside.

After checking in, guests need to bring their vehicles to the parking lot right outside the resort premises. It's a bit too far to walk to the hotel with all your belongings but they do provide a shuttle. I think some extra shuttles were provided that day to help the wedding guests so I ended up in an open air jeepney being used as a shuttle. Under normal circumstances, that would be okay. But I had a lot of stuff with me, including a suit, so it was really difficult riding in a jeepney with everything I was carrying. (On my way back to the parking lot after checking out the next day, I rode an air conditioned coaster so that was much more convenient. Also, for check-out, they stationed a few people at the hotel so that guests could check out there instead of at the reception area. Cool!)

Another watch-out is that there is no room service nor mini-bar. There is a mini refrigerator in the room but it contained only two bottles of water and nothing else. (I believe guests are allowed to bring snacks and drinks inside the resort but not proper meals.) When I wanted to call reception to ask where and what time breakfast would be served the next day, I realized there was no phone in my room. I did spot a phone at the hallway of my hotel so I guess if you really need to call someone, you had to go out of the room and use the phone there.

I was a bit lucky though that breakfast was included in my room reservation. I booked through Agoda and I thought that the room I got didn't include breakfast. I decided that I wanted to eat something that morning since I had a long drive ahead of me so I went to the breakfast area thinking I would have to pay. When I got there, my name was included in the list which meant my food was free. Cool! There weren't a lot of protein options - I think I just had longganisa - but the spread was decent and the food was good. Needless to say, I ate a lot.

Thankfully, I did because my trip home was a disaster. I made a couple of critical errors on my drive back to Manila. First, I trusted Waze too much and didn't even look the recommended directions. Second, I didn't realize that Waze has a new functionality that requires you to enter which tollways you can access. I didn't run into any issues on my drive from Manila to Las Casas so I wasn't expecting to run into issues on the way home. However, I realized after some time that I wasn't anywhere near NLEX and the road I was driving on wasn't the road I passed by the day before. I figured that I was being given directions that avoided NLEX completely. Unfortunately, by then, I couldn't find any road signs pointing towards the highway. I tried changing my destination in the hopes that I would be brought back to NLEX but it didn't work. As such, I ended up driving on the service roads of Bataan, Pampanga, and Bulacan - some of which were extremely bumpy - for a prolonged period of time. Eventually, I saw a sign that pointed me to NLEX so I finally got on the highway. Whew! But even then, Waze kept telling me to take the next available exit. Crazy! I had to turn Waze off because it wasn't helping and by that time, I already knew my way home. All in all, I lost maybe 30 to 45 minutes of driving time but the stress made it feel a lot longer. When I got home, I updated my Waze settings to allow me to drive on Easytrip (and Autosweep) tollways. Still, I am baffled at how I didn't have this problem driving to Bataan but encountered it on the drive home.

Despite the craziness, the heat, and the exhaustion I experienced, I am still happy that I got to attend Jeyo and Michelle's wedding. I am also happy that I have now experienced Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar.

Hotel De Oriente in Las Casas

One of the highlights of my stay at Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar was visiting and going inside Hotel De Oriente.

Hotel De Oriente in Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar

This building was named and modeled after the original Hotel De Oriente, which was built in 1889 and was the first premiere hotel in the Philippines. According to my guide, the original hotel was the first building in the country to have electricity and the second, after Malacanang Palace, to have a telephone. The new Hotel De Oriente in Las Casas now serves as a convention centre. In fact, it was the venue of the APEC Summit in 2015.

Interior of Hotel De Oriente

What I found most striking is that its interior is filled with beautiful and intricate wood mosaic. The ceiling showcases mosaic representations of National Artist Carlos "Botong" Francisco's paintings.

Wood mosaic representation of a Botong Francisco painting

At the center of the ground floor is a large mosaic representation of Juan Luna's Spoliarium. It actually appeared in one of the wedding videos and I immediately wondered where that photo was taken so I was very excited when I saw it. Naturally, I had to have my own photo taken with it.

Wood mosaic representation of Juan Luna's Spoliarium

The guide told me that all the mosaics in the building were created by local Bagac women (Las Casas is in Bagac, Bataan). They designed the mosaic, planned out how the wood would be laid out, identified what color each piece should be, and put everything together. That is really impressive!

Also stunning are wood carvings featured throughout the building interior. The guide told me that Las Casas hired wood carvers from Paete, Laguna and Betis, Pampanga. Apparently, many wood carvers in the Philippines tried getting work abroad as fruit carvers abroad but many came back home because fruit carving turned out to be quite different from wood carving. As such, it's really good that they found work here. The resort is still not done, with a lot of work still planned for the future, so these wood carvers will continue to be employed at Las Casas in the foreseeable future.

Local artists were also commissioned to create paintings of flowers that are on display inside the Manila Hall. The guide told me that the painters created these artworks using their imagination so it's possible that some of these flowers might not actually exist in real life.

Inside Manila Hall

I believe there are are some Las Casas packages that include entrance to Hotel De Oriente. If you decide to visit or stay at the resort, be sure to check out if your booking includes a ticket to the convention centre. If not, I highly recommend paying the P200 entrance fee because it is absolutely worth it.

Next: Final thoughts on my visit to Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar

Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar

I had been hearing about Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar for a while now and over the years, I've seen a lot of beautiful photos taken by my friends who had been there. I've always been interested to see it myself. And now, because my friend invited me to his wedding there, I finally got to visit this beautiful and very photogenic resort in Bagac, Bataan.

Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar

Because I booked a room, I had the opportunity to see Las Casas both at night with all the lights and during the day.

Night lights along the banks of the Umagol River

After the reception, before heading back to my room, I strolled around the resort grounds to take photos. Hotel De Oriente looked stunning...

Hotel De Oriente at night

...as did Casa Hagonoy.

Casa Hagonoy

I took a quick look at Estero De Binondo, which was just behind my hotel building. 

Estero De Binondo

I walked over the bridge to one of the "islands" in the resort to take a snapshot of Plaza Francisco.

Plaza Francisco

The next morning, after breakfast, I decided to return to the locations I visited the day before, such as Sanctuario De San Jose, the church where the wedding ceremony was held...

Sanctuario De San Jose

...and Plaza Mayor De Tobias, this time without the reception set-up. There is a large fountain right at the center of the plaza.

Fountain at Plaza Mayor De Tobias

Underneath the Lola Basyang Bridge on the side the faces Hotel De Oriente, you will find sculptures of Philippine mythological creatures: a tikbalang, a manananggal, and a kapre.

Sculptures of Philippine mythological creatures underneath the Lola Basyang Bridge

I also didn't know that Las Casas was a beach resort. I didn't bring any swim gear but I didn't feel bad about it because I didn't really have time to swim anyway since check out was at noon. Instead, I decided to take photos of the beach and the sea.

At the far end of the resort is a jetty lined with beautiful and intricately designed lamp posts.

jetty with beautiful lamp posts

I also spotted a memorial that was built in honor of Filipino and American soldiers who fought during the Battle of Bataan during World War II.

Memorial for soldiers who fought in the Battle of Bataan

I decided to go back to my room at 11am to get cleaned up before checking out and heading home. My room was a deluxe room that I booked via Agoda. It was pretty big, with a king-sized bed.

Deluxe room with a king-sized bed

It also had a pretty spacious bathroom. (There is actually a bath tub on the other end of the bathroom - it was right behind me when I took this next pic - but I didn't get to use it.)

bathroom in the deluxe room

My room doesn't have a glass window but it does have a large wooden door that opens up into a small balcony. I was lucky that my room had a fantastic view of the beach. I didn't open it during the evening because I didn't want bugs to get in but I did keep it open for a short time in the morning while I got ready to check out. Naturally, I had to take a photo.

Incredible view of the beach from my room

My friend recommended to me that I go inside Hotel De Oriente and I did. I will write more about this in my next post.

Next post: Hotel De Oriente

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.