Tag: travel

The Starbucks Planner Dilemma

Some people by now have already started coming in and out of Starbucks stores. Some in a rush to complete their sticker booklets while some to redeem their own Starbucks planner. Well, not me but however late it may be, this time I seem to reconsider the idea. The dilemma ‘to planner or not to planner’ strikes once more.

That’s because I just realized that after a long time, this year appears to be the year when I should’ve had a planner of some sort.  Stuck in my car last Friday and having finished a heavy rice meal right after I parked at work three hours earlier than usual, I found myself pondering on things that have happened this year. Everything was overwhelming since 2016 started.

Events came in faster than I would have imagined. Marcus got his US visa against all odds; we transferred house on a tight budget and in a short timeframe; I unexpectedly got a new role at work; and everything else—good or bad—in between. It was like a smorgasbord served in front of me all at the same time and the no leftover rule applies. (Ah yes, not close to any Japanese buffet but it’s like the pack of lauriat I found in the backseat that my sister was supposed to take with her when I dropped her back in Alabang. Everything in the paper bag was cold by then but good enough.)

That Chowking meal made me last until the end of the day’s training. A training that had me cancel a vacation I planned long before I got myself in this new account, in this new culture. Oh, and a plane ticket to be rebooked in the process. I now owe wifey Php 6000 more.

So maybe yes I need a planner this time. Maybe I should start using one again to take note of schedules, list of people I need to meet (and avoid), and maybe to doodle while stressed in the parking lot. Assuming I spend a venti everyday until the 30th I think could still get it. But then again that’s almost 2000 pesos for a planner so maybe not—not until I start to realize that I actually need to plan an itinerary in the weeks to come. A cheap notebook seems more appealing for now.

From the PAL office to Acacia. We dropped by to say hi and take a dip in hotel’s pool.

***

Mood: 6/10 Honks! (Rebooking sucks.)

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Feel the Drift

So we discovered this one place in Nuvali where we experience drifting a car outside of the virtual world. Marcus loved it so much that we have to do it again on our second visit. Thanks to wifey who this time tagged along with us to capture this video.

By the way, thanks to the crew of Skidkart Circuit who made a kid in a wheelchair (and his dad) experience what he only sees on his Need For Speed Most Wanted game. We will try to find you in Tagaytay if we happen to be there.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (This Ayala Mall Solenad already feels like home to Marcus.)

We Will Rock London

We are not done talking about dreams yet. There is probably no other place where Marcus would like to be and it’s not where most would go to. At the same age, kids in general would say Disneyland, some Universal Studio, some Legoland. But none of these are Marcus’ choice. Where then? London. Yes, London. If he had a bucket list this would be among his things to do, we bet it could be his topmost even. His obsession with this place amuses us.

Firstly, he wants to meet one of his YouTube idols, DanTDM. Given his own free will, he plans to see him and his pugs. Just like that. For Marcus, things were as simple as just dropping by to say hello, like how he now does with this cousins wherein he visits them almost every day since we transferred. He spends so much time on YouTube channel of DanTDM that he feels his favorite YouTuber is no celebrity but rather someone ordinary who he has access to in short notice. Oh by the way, our son’s such a big fan that he wants to color his hair blue just like Dan did. I told him he can when he turns ten. (Two years to go and I hope he forgets.)

Then what’s a visit to London if you haven’t seen the Queen? So this one too is part of Marcus’ agenda. He once asked  if he would be allowed to enter the palace to see the Queen. We told him it isn’t easy to get past the guards but he was insistent and it seems like he already has a plan. “I will sing We Will Rock You, that’s by the Queen,” he stressed. Well, he’s got a different Queen in mind, Freddy Mercury would be proud.

Besides singing his way in to the palace, he has other tests for the famous Buckingham Palace guards. Having seen it once on Mr. Bean’s cartoon show, he would like to prove if they do stay still while on duty despite being surrounded by annoying tourists. This reminds me of one of his classmates who once said she remembers Marcus whenever she watches Mr. Bean. Yup, he could be as animated and funny at times. When not being stubborn, he’s a natural comedian.

There was also a day when while undergoing his session with a local reflexology therapist or manghihilot, he saw on Pinoy Abroad, a local TV network afternoon series, the familiar London underground sign that he sees a lot in Modern Warfare 3. He said he wants to see the actual place to check if it does look like the one in his Call of Duty game. Yup, I know, the game’s rated M so sue me.

So how do we get him to London? We can’t for now but Marcus is keeping his fingers crossed that I win the lotto. Far-fetched but sounds like the only plan.

For now we are close to visiting that flag in the background. (Taken in MOA by the Bay on the day wifey and I renewed our passports.)

***

Our son seems to be bent on getting his travel funds. Last night he asked his mommy if he can help finish her freelance job. Hmm.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Today we are committed to fight the summer heat. Home-made halu-halo coming.)

Marcus Can Dream

We have stopped taking note of Marcus’ milestones. We consider him as any regular kid except that he cannot walk. In the past few months since his last check up,  nothing seems to have happened significantly  which for me and my wife is good enough. Actually, things have been relatively normal for us. There is this one though that we have been wondering if or when it would happen. Now it did.

Marcus has started dreaming, well, at least he already started telling us what they were. Not until this year, he has never told us about his dreams. I find it weird that he doesn’t have any–not even a nightmare. It is just so unbelievable that he won’t have one with all the things going around him like video games, movies, stories, school, toys, flawed parents, and any other factors that would easily form good or bad images or a combo of both while he is on REM. I was thinking then that either he is among those who soon forget their dreams once they open their eyes, or he opts to lie all about it. Whatever that is, I was sort of worried that he does not have a dream to tell.

My wife said that she would sometimes observe Marcus talking in his sleep but he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) recall what he dreamt of when asked about it in the morning. Soon, however, we would hear one from him.

The first instance he disclosed his dream was one that’s outright scary. Obviously a nightmare. He told his mommy about his dream where God is bad so much so that he is now afraid of seeing that ‘God’ again. We have already assured him that it couldn’t be so, that it couldn’t be the God we know. He has not described what he saw and I do not want to ask either (I had nightmares of holy statues and figures in the past and they’re the worse ones).

Captured by wifey just last night, Marcus here is reading his first Holy Bible. Must be double checking if God isn’t supposed to be scary.

But he had happy ones, too.  Whew. He excitedly told us one day that he dreamt of being able to walk and run around and I can very well feel how it must be like for him–it’s like me dreaming of flying freely just to wake up and realize that I can’t. Come to think of it, it was rather a bittersweet dream but it is a dream I am sure he would always like to have.

I wonder if he has dreamt of being here in his Roblox game.

 ***

Some of Marcus’ dreams are actually coming true. While he dreams of being on a plane to London, he will soon be on one but to another destination.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Will catch some sleep. Will dream.)

Zen in Car Wash

There was once a time when finding time to wash the car leisurely was no big deal. I can do it anytime, I can do it even every day. But that was then for this activity has taken a backseat among other priorities. When I do get time to do it though, thoughts about the past with it would seem to come by. It’s like there is Zen in squeezing the sponge and applying bubbly car shampoo solution on the car’s cold silver gray surface.

Our car turned eight this year and everything has remained stock just the way I prefer it to be. Last year I was lucky to receive a dashboard cam which is the only significant change that has happened to our Honda City so far. And this month, exactly on its anniversary, we gave it an RFID toll sticker—one that has already helped us breeze through toll gates during our weekly trips to Batangas. Take note, weekly. We have been that busy.

RFID transaction took less than 15 min.

It will be two months since I have been driving almost daily, weekends included. And there have been lots of instances when driving was stressful and judgment fails despite best effort to stay focused. Like recently, a motorcycle rear-ended our car after I tried to overtake a slow moving jeepney. The car had a very minor scratch, the motorcycle rider had a nervous escape, and I had nothing to blame but my sleepy and reckless self. Sometimes bad karma could happen that fast.

I have been wishing to be on a long road trip to break the boring routine trips to the malls, more so, to and from work. This last weekend, that road trip finally happened. The trip to Kamay ni Hesus was nostalgic, the last time I was behind the wheel to Lucena was more than 10 years ago. Not much has changed though except for some completed road improvement as well as perpetual road repairs which give the hint of an incoming election period not to mention the substandard materials that our dear government officials and their contractors love to use.

It was a road trip around Mount Banahaw.

The drive back home was more interesting as we took a different way plus the fact that it was my first time to pass through what drivers refer to as little Baguio or bituka ng manok route.  Named for its undulating and twisty road that resembles the curves of a chicken’s intestine, the route was challenging as expected and every now and then it was tempting to push my driving skill to the limit. It took us almost an hour of twists and turns before we see straight road again. We got out of it intact, no dizzy wifey, Marcus and his cousins didn’t require barf bags.

The last time I washed the car was before New Year and it was also when I had it polished and waxed. I could be that detailed when time and resource allow it. Yesterday, I had the energy to pick up the sponge and bucket once again, thanks to a graveyard shift cut short by two hours, but just to realize that I have ran out of Turtle Wax car shampoo. So for the very first time in my entire life as a car owner I bit the bullet and used a Dove body wash just so our dusty car could have its much deserved break. The bright side? It was the most fragrant car wash it ever had.

Works for humans and cars.

Come to think of it, a car could remind us of how life is. That life will never be perfect, it is never perfect, and if it seems to appear like so, we must accept that it won’t remain perfect forever. There is no point in fretting over minor dents and scratches. As long as the car’s engine keeps running, then so be it. Same goes with life.

***

Mood: 3/10 Honks! (Home earlier than yesterday. If I go offline tonight any longer, I might as well work at LTO.)

Thanksgiving Staycation

The calendar on my phone tells me it is Friday, past 3 a.m. I have just awakened from a cold sleep. I gazed around but no double-deck beds, no La-Z-Boy recliners either. I stepped out and no hallway too. On my left is a living area and on my right, the dining–floor fully carpeted. On the kitchen counter are tea and coffee packs neatly arranged on a white porcelain tray. Obviously I am not at work. Aw snap, I remember, I am in a Bellevue Alabang suite.

Thanksgivings haven’t been like this. It is not so often that I spend my time off with some other people at work and I am not bothered. I am with a party of selected employees and bosses but there is absence of stress. The only pressure was if I can keep up with everyone else during meal.

Brunch was at Shakey’s Paseo Sta. Rosa. Dinner was at Yakimix ATC. Ironically, in between these gut-busting itinerary our group watched a movie: Hunger Games. It was my first time to watch it and despite lack of sleep I was able to finish Mockingjay – Part 1–maybe it was because of Katniss Everdeen, or maybe President Alma Coin, or maybe just because I had one Starbucks venti Americano with an additional shot.

I am now stuffed as a turkey and buffet breakfast is fast approaching. Time to consider the gym.

Bellevue Alabang, What really goes on inside a staycation guest head
Staycation thoughts.

***

Tidbits:

I typed staycation and spell check suggests ‘stay caution.’ Well, the bathroom scale agrees.

Hunger Games is like work: there’s Capitol and there are people who want to obliterate it. (Don’t ask me but I’m Katniss’ cat.)

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (I want to do this again.)

Weight Conscious

I bet that among the dreaded moments for most people ending their vacation is when it is time to pack up. Whether that be from the separation anxiety that comes along with it or just the thought of finding stuffs and figuring out which one goes where back inside the bags. There are others of course who worry about having excess baggage because of the new items that they have accumulated over time such as due to impulsive shopping or, for lucky ones like me, stuffs received as gifts or hand-me-downs from people from tate. But nevertheless how these things were acquired all of these could get someone in trouble at any airport’s check-in counter. And I’m not letting this extra stress happen to me especially that I’m traveling with my ever restless 4-year old.

So yesterday after buying some pasalubong for folks back in Luzon, and suddenly remembering that other than the box of BongBong’s delicacies I just got is an additional big Samsonite luggage (this is among my freebies and majority of its content also hand-me-downs) at home, I rushed to the mall’s Handyman store and purchased the cheapest analog luggage scale available.

This early morning, after packing almost all of our stuffs, I got to test the scale and I think that it’s probably picking up close to the exact weight. I also discovered that this one has a 39-inch tape measure that could come handy in checking waistlines overall dimensions of luggage that anyone plans to hand carry. The luggage scale can weigh up to 34 kilograms (75 lbs.) and costs only P325 (approx. $8).

***

Part of making sure that Marcus’ stuffs are intact is the tedious task of checking that his new Lego bricks (from my sis), not Duplos which means these are smaller, are all accounted for. And I’m now giving myself a pat on the back for sticking to my decision not to open his other Ninjago kit while we are still here in Bacolod.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks!(I can smell breakfast. I’m expecting more excess weight.)

Of Dead Batteries And Good Samaritans

Ever had one of those problems wherein you search the internet and the only solution you’ll find is one that seems absurd? Well, I got one lately. This is about the mysterious case of our Honda City which happened right after its battery got totally drained at the NAIA 3′s parking lot. Inexplicably, the car’s driver side window stopped its automatic function even after the battery has been fully charged. I tried moving it up and down thinking that it has gotten stuck due to being left idle for more than half a month but the futile exercise didn’t solve the problem. The following day, I also opened the door panel in an attempt to see the window mechanism but I was prevented by the Honda’s complicated door design plus the thought that I’d do more harm than good.

Frustrated, defeated, and embarrassed by the fact that this is supposed to be one simple problem normally solved by a WD40, I googled for an answer before going to bed. As expected, Google presented me with various answers but only one caught my attention. About.com’s Honda Power Window and Locks Fix Fix was the most brief–it only suggests 3 quick steps:

  1. Switch off Ignition
  2. Set intermittent wiper set to middle position
  3. Switch ignition back on

Even if the website mentions that this process is meant to reset the MCU, I was doubtful that it will work so I slept that night with just one question, “How can an intermittent wiper be connected to the window?” Even so, the solution proved its worth the very next day. Just after doing the abovementioned procedure, I was shaking my head in disbelief when the automatic window came back to life like some mechanical Lazarus. I tested and then re-tested the window and yes, the ridiculous solution does work.

***

My recent experience at the NAIA 3 parking, although I expected the battery being drain after leaving the car at the parking lot for weeks, gave me some important lessons:

  1. Park the car in a position wherein jumpstarting would be easier. For example, do not park facing the wall since this will require you to push it all the way back so it faces the “battery source” car especially if the jumpstart cable is short. Good thing I parked mine this way, else it would have been a longer night for the three of us.
  2. After jumpstarting the car, it is best to leave it idling or drive for an hour before totally shutting off the engine. I learned about this the hard way, when I turned the engine off just more than ten minutes since Albert Sebastian (who I soon learned is a reporter of Radyo ng Bayan DZRB) assisted me at the airport’s parking lot. Good thing, the crew of McDonald’s where I stopped pushed my car to a nearby Total gas station where another total stranger by the name of Jet didn’t hesitate to help me jumpstart my car again.
  3. Take note of Motolite’s 24-hour delivery number just in case you need further help – like a completely dead battery. Motolite’s Anytime, Anywhere Delivery number is (02)3706686.
  4. Last but not the least, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Some may reject you but others ever willing to help will be there soon.

 ***

Mood: 3/10 Honks! (I will need to find a helmet for Marcus. He had his first fall from his new bike this afternoon.)

Amazing Race Pampanga

They say that watching TV has its subliminal effect. I may have to agree this time as what we’ve done a day after the Balloon fest is somewhat similar to the recently concluded Amazing Race Asia Season 2. No, there’s no running involved, no Henry-Trinidad arguments and definitely there are neither clues nor roadblocks to beat. But it’s just that there’s money to be budgeted like being the last team on a non-elimination round plus the fact that my two-weeks of  re-gym made me somewhat near Marc Nelson’s six- pack abs — okay, is a joke.

Swagman.jpg

But quite frankly, the reason why I’m trying to control our first meal that morning of February 11, both budget and volume, is because we’ve been planning on checking out Everybody’s Café. So after Angeles we went to San Fernando where the main restaurant is located. We got the idea of going to this famous Pampanga restaurant from a show on the Food Network channel (if my memory serves me right). The host of the show ate frog legs in this resto and that perked up my interest to try this exotic food.

Almost an hour away from Angeles, San Fernando city is surprisingly developed than I expected it to be—the presence of several major car dealerships reaffirms this observation. A couple of minutes after entering the city and spending a few more time asking for directions, we located our main objective but to my dismay is not the one we saw on TV.  My wife later mentioned that it located in Angeles which is the branch store. To save the day and our grumbling stomach we proceeded nonetheless.

From the outside, the place looks just like any ancestral house. With only one SUV parked that day, a newcomer wouldn’t even think that inside is a restaurant if not for the large sign hanging on the right portion of the entrance. Upon stepping inside, the sight of the food display gave me a hint that we are in the right place and at this point I already started to check every food tray for something looking weird, with long legs and webbed feet, and that resembles those we see in ponds–frogs. But there were none.

Good thing the old lady at the counter sensed my craving for exotic kapampangan delicacies. She politely offered buro with mustard leaves, fried hito (catfish) and to my delight, fried camaro (crickets). We also ordered Tapang Kalabaw–this became my instant favorite since I had one at SM Clark’s Cabalen.

Once the foods are served, I was surprised that we had little hesitation to dig on everything in front of us. The camaro tasted just like small shrimps if not for its hollow stomach and dark brown color. And the buro and mustard leaf combination made me remember my late lola‘s preparation when taking the nganga (leaves and lime chewed usually by elders). Overall, we enjoyed the weird lunch. Spent: P500+

Everybody outline

Upon finishing our kapampangan meal, we still had time to check out San Fernando’s malls which we unintentionally discovered when we took a wrong turn while looking for the resto. So with full stomach we found window shopping a good way to burn calories—I wonder how much calories did the fried crickets deposited in me. After grabbing some items, we decided it’s time we head back to Manila. Spent: P1000+

It was just around 1:30 PM when we left San Fernando. NLEX traffic was smooth. We only got stuck starting in Cubao and the area before Ayala and we realized we still had time to kill. To the delight of my wife, I agreed to drop by Glorietta Center in Makati. Besides, our car already badly needs a wash.

Inside Glorietta, the temporary stalls located in one part of the mall made us realize that renovation is ongoing to repair the site affected by the December 2007 blast. That uneasy feeling to avoid this mall subsided quickly once we reached Glorietta 4 wherein our quest for local foods continued as I decided to take my snack from Taco Ilocano—Ilocano-style empanada. Right after another calorie pile-up, we went to watch the movie The Eye in one of G4’s cinema. It’s been quite some time since we last watched a film in this mall. Spent: P1500+

By around 6 PM we were already on our way back home but the thickening traffic gave us another reason to make our final stop at SM Mall of Asia.

When we got out of the elevator from the parking lot, all the food we took a couple of hours ago seem to just disappear out of our bellies—we were hungry once more. So we combed the place and found ourselves facing the Manila bay at the rear portion of the mall. Right in front of us we noticed something new in the vicinity—SM by the Bay.

We excitedly crossed the bridge to check it out and it was as if all of a sudden we were transported to another country somewhere in Asia but the Philippines. Whoever thought of this idea deserves more than just a pat on the back. It was packed with people, it is clean, it’s enticing, romantic and more importantly, the choice of places to eat is overwhelming. Almost an hour later of picking which is which, we eventually settled in Aling Tonya’s restaurant. We ordered calamares, sinigang na isda and, last but never the least, San Mig lights beer. What a wonderful way to cap the Balloonfest. Spent: P800+.

So there goes another trip with my lovely wife, another well-deserved outing for the two of us. Looking forward to the next road trip and good food to deal with. And by the way, I need another set of coin banks.