Since i've arrived here in manila, i've already bought 6 pairs of shoes. But they are really good deals.
The best ones worth mentioning are:
TEVA Romero, running/trekking/hiking shoes.
TEVA Terra Cross buckle, trekking/hiking sandals.
HI-TEC Highlander, trekking/hiking shoes.
These are American and European brands.
No Chinese nor Filipino copies, thank you. They'd fall apart after several leisurely walks, and they'd bake your feet.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Manila's Old Quarter
last week, i went to the old quarter of manila, and walked around binondo, ongpin, recto... but not yet intramuros. quite dangeruos places but i enjoyed it, i think i'm going back there again soon, one visit is not enough. i can tell that it must have been a beautiful city centuries ago under the spaniards and the americans. i even remarked that if they maintained the beautiful buildings and monuments, we would have looked like madrid in the middle of asia. but the japanese occupation destroyed most of manila, it was one of the most heavily damaged cities. and it was not repaired properly after being destroyed. so now, you only see bits of its former beauty. you see a beautiful building occasionally, and then next to it is a smelly and dirty river. I walked along the chinatown of manila too, but nothing to see there. i will have to spare some time so that i can visit intramuros properly.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Siquijor
PM_0001
Originally uploaded by silly_jake.
Sun, sea, and sand. All these are less than 10 seconds away from our cottage. This is the beach that greets us in the morning.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
SIQUIJOR ISLAND
Hello pips,
Click on the links to the websites of Pia, Vix, Terai and Julius to read about our trip to Sijuijor.
It reminds me of a thousand inside jokes. And it always makes me laugh loudly (even in public places). Most of the time, I am successful at controlling my laughter, but sometimes audible giggles would escape, eliciting strange stares from my seatmates at an internet café. Worse, was in a public transportation, all I did was recall the phrase "Dinnes, The Journey" and it was enough to make me giggle.
More fotos at my flickr account.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sillyjake/
Enjoy.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Fucking Murphy’s Law!!!
This is one BIG BITCH of a day! So, as expected, I was acting like one big cranky BRATINELLO! Damn, don’t serve one of those SALIDOÑOS to this BRATINELLO when it’s one of those days.
I didn’t get a minute of sleep last night because of my sporadic insomnia. So at 6am, I decided to go cycling, to get a work-out going. I was thinking that perhaps after cycling, the endorphins would make me feel good. Well, I got a bit of disappointment coz the front brakes of my bike were locked on ‘brake mode’ and the back tires were deflated. Hmmm! I just thought I wasn’t supposed to go cycling that day. I had breakfast and a cup of hot chocolate to relax… didn’t work! I decided to go back to sleep... didn’t work either. I just rolled there in bed.
By lunchtime, I got out of bed, and the maid cooked breakfast for me. I couldn’t find any other food that time, and I didn’t feel like cooking for myself, so I asked the maid to cook me one of those pancit canton. Guess what, the brain of our maid decided not to work as well. After boiling water, she put the noodles in, along with the flavoring, oil, and what not sauce that come along with it. Then, after cooking it for 3 minutes, drains everything. Naturally, flavoring, oil, etc etc DOWN DOWN THE DRAIN!!! And all that’s left is the pale and bland vermicelli.. FUDGE!!!! And she looked so FUDGEY surprised that it tasted bland. AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!! Cook another one, get it right this time. *SIGH* This requires EMERGENCY ZEN MODE! Some neck stretching, breathe deeply, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. “I am calm, I am in a happy place, I am calm, I am in a happy place.” Well, she managed to cook the 2nd one correctly, but I did the whole deep breathing exercise the whole time I was eating those freaking noodles.
One way to keep my mind away from those unfortunate events was to go to work. And work I did, I went and did more surfing through the internet to get more details regarding the planned vacation of me and my friends. It’s working, it’s working, it’s keeping my mind away from the events that transpired earlier. Up until the moment that I wanted to print the stuff that I’ve researched. The F*CKING printer wont work. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! ZEN MODE, ZEN MODE!!! And zen mode needs reinforcement. So right now, I’ve lighted some aromatherapy candles, and played some nice ambient music. I could even try listening to Benedictine monks chanting. Hopefully, it works. If it still doesn’t work, I’m thinking of doing 120 sit-ups, and exhaust myself to sleep. If not still, I could drown myself to sleep with rum.
MAY THE CALMNESS AND SERENITY OF BUDDHA BE WITH ME!!
Wish me luck.
I might even succeed in keeping my BRATINELLO-side separate from my OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERFECTIONIST TRAVEL-PLANNER-side. So perhaps later, I might even be able to update my friends regarding our travel plans. Hopefully, the update will sound coherent and hopefully it will be free of psychiatric characteristics such as flight of ideas that identify a SCHIZ work of writing.
I didn’t get a minute of sleep last night because of my sporadic insomnia. So at 6am, I decided to go cycling, to get a work-out going. I was thinking that perhaps after cycling, the endorphins would make me feel good. Well, I got a bit of disappointment coz the front brakes of my bike were locked on ‘brake mode’ and the back tires were deflated. Hmmm! I just thought I wasn’t supposed to go cycling that day. I had breakfast and a cup of hot chocolate to relax… didn’t work! I decided to go back to sleep... didn’t work either. I just rolled there in bed.
By lunchtime, I got out of bed, and the maid cooked breakfast for me. I couldn’t find any other food that time, and I didn’t feel like cooking for myself, so I asked the maid to cook me one of those pancit canton. Guess what, the brain of our maid decided not to work as well. After boiling water, she put the noodles in, along with the flavoring, oil, and what not sauce that come along with it. Then, after cooking it for 3 minutes, drains everything. Naturally, flavoring, oil, etc etc DOWN DOWN THE DRAIN!!! And all that’s left is the pale and bland vermicelli.. FUDGE!!!! And she looked so FUDGEY surprised that it tasted bland. AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!! Cook another one, get it right this time. *SIGH* This requires EMERGENCY ZEN MODE! Some neck stretching, breathe deeply, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. “I am calm, I am in a happy place, I am calm, I am in a happy place.” Well, she managed to cook the 2nd one correctly, but I did the whole deep breathing exercise the whole time I was eating those freaking noodles.
One way to keep my mind away from those unfortunate events was to go to work. And work I did, I went and did more surfing through the internet to get more details regarding the planned vacation of me and my friends. It’s working, it’s working, it’s keeping my mind away from the events that transpired earlier. Up until the moment that I wanted to print the stuff that I’ve researched. The F*CKING printer wont work. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! ZEN MODE, ZEN MODE!!! And zen mode needs reinforcement. So right now, I’ve lighted some aromatherapy candles, and played some nice ambient music. I could even try listening to Benedictine monks chanting. Hopefully, it works. If it still doesn’t work, I’m thinking of doing 120 sit-ups, and exhaust myself to sleep. If not still, I could drown myself to sleep with rum.
MAY THE CALMNESS AND SERENITY OF BUDDHA BE WITH ME!!
Wish me luck.
I might even succeed in keeping my BRATINELLO-side separate from my OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERFECTIONIST TRAVEL-PLANNER-side. So perhaps later, I might even be able to update my friends regarding our travel plans. Hopefully, the update will sound coherent and hopefully it will be free of psychiatric characteristics such as flight of ideas that identify a SCHIZ work of writing.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Apres Internship
What’s a day like after medical internship?
After the grueling 24 to 34-hour workdays, I’ve been having difficulty finding things to do. But then I realize that what I have right now isn’t bad at all.
..Wake up at 9am.
..Roll around in bed for another 15 minutes.
..Have breakfast at 915am.
Wheat bread with butter and liver spread.
Home made pizza with wheat bread, 3 cheese pizza sauce, fresh basil, cheddar cheese.
..Extend breakfast for 2 hours in the garden, while drinking Sri Lankan orange pekoe tea that I flavored with lemon, orange, cinnamon and nutmeg. While drinking tea, I read options where my friends and I will go on vacation. The options have to have a beach, can go snorkeling, and can go diving. Currently reading on Siquijor Island, Negros Oriental and Apo Island. The background music comes from my Beach House collection.
..Have a nice, long and leisurely cool shower.
..Make lunch.
Penne in Tomato-Parmesan, Spanish sardine, fresh basil, and chili-garlic sauce.
..Extend lunch for another 2 hours in the garden while drinking lemonade. And continue reading on the options on where to go on vacation. Background music comes from my Chill Out collection.
..Put the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door, and have a nice long siesta.
..Wake up just in time for dinner.
..Have dinner with the family.
..After dinner, have a nice warm cup of Spanish chocolate, with chocolate and mint cookies. And read some more on where to go on vacation. Background music: After Eight Chill Out.
Hmmm.. I wonder what will greet me first thing in the morning tomorrow.
Perhaps a nice warm cup of strong coffee, freshly brewed using local Robusta coffee beans.
Ahhhhh! This is the life!
After the grueling 24 to 34-hour workdays, I’ve been having difficulty finding things to do. But then I realize that what I have right now isn’t bad at all.
..Wake up at 9am.
..Roll around in bed for another 15 minutes.
..Have breakfast at 915am.
Wheat bread with butter and liver spread.
Home made pizza with wheat bread, 3 cheese pizza sauce, fresh basil, cheddar cheese.
..Extend breakfast for 2 hours in the garden, while drinking Sri Lankan orange pekoe tea that I flavored with lemon, orange, cinnamon and nutmeg. While drinking tea, I read options where my friends and I will go on vacation. The options have to have a beach, can go snorkeling, and can go diving. Currently reading on Siquijor Island, Negros Oriental and Apo Island. The background music comes from my Beach House collection.
..Have a nice, long and leisurely cool shower.
..Make lunch.
Penne in Tomato-Parmesan, Spanish sardine, fresh basil, and chili-garlic sauce.
..Extend lunch for another 2 hours in the garden while drinking lemonade. And continue reading on the options on where to go on vacation. Background music comes from my Chill Out collection.
..Put the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door, and have a nice long siesta.
..Wake up just in time for dinner.
..Have dinner with the family.
..After dinner, have a nice warm cup of Spanish chocolate, with chocolate and mint cookies. And read some more on where to go on vacation. Background music: After Eight Chill Out.
Hmmm.. I wonder what will greet me first thing in the morning tomorrow.
Perhaps a nice warm cup of strong coffee, freshly brewed using local Robusta coffee beans.
Ahhhhh! This is the life!
Monday, July 17, 2006
PROOST!
PROOST! This means 'Cheers!' and it's the most important word that i learned from Alex and Bart. Well, i think you know what we do when this word is being used. Beer and cocktails, anyone? And of course, talk and laugh about my version of 'home of hope'. 'Home of hope' is a foundation for children but i mis-heard it when it was first said to me. i heard 'homophobe' instead of 'home of hope', so imagine the horror on my face when i learned that a foundation has been named 'homophobe'. :)
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Dr. Alex and Dr. Bart
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Virginia Sausage Totally Corrupted
Sausage
When i woke up today, i kinda dragged myself to the kitchen.. still sleepy and lazy to get up. And then i started eating a sliced sausage on the kitchen table, and then i asked the servant what it was... and she replied: "Vagina Sausage". Hmmm, i think i'm still groggy coz i didn't hear it right. So i asked again what it was.. "VAGINA SAUSAGE"... I broke out in loud laughter all by myself. My father saw me laughing by myself and i told him what happened.. he ended up laughing boisterously too. Virginia sausage was totally corrupted and molested.
Chococcino
Spanish Chocolate
Buenas noches!
Me and a bunch of friends decided to hang-out in a coffee shop (Coffee Beanery) last night. I decided to order a 'chococcino'. The waiter explained to me that it was a combination of hot spanish chocolate with fresh milk. Doesn't that just make you salivate? I was anticipating having a cup of hot thick dark bittersweet spanish chocolate, and i was thinking of adding as much cream as i please to my cup. And then my cup arrives, with a nice creamy froth on top with a syrup spiral to decorate it. And then i sipped... LAS-AY NGA MILO!!! (BLAND MILO! 1:20 dilution which is only done by the ungas-ungas mommies of the uma of Negros.) I am freaking capable of making a better cup of chocolate using Ovaltine 3in1. So people.. this comes as a caveat when planning to have a drink in Coffee Beanery. Chococcino! BAH!!!
Monday, June 12, 2006
In front of Villa de Oro
In front of Villa de Oro
Originally uploaded by silly_jake.
Day 4
This is the part that is least enjoyable.. leaving Boracay and going back to the real world. We woke up at different times.. I woke up last. Hehehe! I wonder why? *Wink, wink*
On the bus stop in Caticlan.. it is easy to make the observation that Filipinos don’t know how to form a queue. Instead, they push, grab, elbow, and pull themselves to get to the front.. well, those are the f*cking uneducated squatters anyway, not us! But you are going to get a push, a grab, an elbow, or even a punch if try to cut your way in front of one of my friends. *Raise eyebrow while watching squatters wrestle themselves to death getting to the front.*
When seated, I realized that my seat and the seat in front of me are quite dysfunctional. That’s how I met Phil, an American Dive Master, touring his way through the dive sites in the Philippines. When he would lean back on his seat, it goes so far backward that my space is easily halved. However, my seat does the same but to a lesser extent. Well, he kinda got worried about his seat but I reassured him that its OK coz I’m ‘paper thin’ anyway, still lots of space for me. After that, we talked about the places that he has been in the Philippines, and he was asking about how to travel to some of the places that he still planned to visit. Among them were Apo Island just off Dumaguete, Bohol, and Cebu. After a while, I had to sleep my hangover away during the bus ride. And then enter a booming voice from just beside Phil. Marvin Yu Zapanta! Here is the context of the situation: almost everybody on the bus is exhausted from all that activity from Boracay, and they just want to get some rest during the boring bus ride. I don’t think anybody appreciates a voice with a loudness that rivals that of a jet engine when you are trying to sleep. Again, Marvin Yu Zapanta! Most especially for Phil, who was just to his right, getting much of those decibels right in his face. Nor did Lynor and RJ appreciate it, who were just to his left. Again, Marvin Yu Zapanta, alleged English literature teacher, but who couldn’t even f*cking get his English straight. *TAGALUMAPAW AND TIKAL!!!* *Lynor, I think this is the part where you stand up, with eyes glaring down at Marvin, kag nag-paninghawak up to the level of the armpits, and yelled ‘WHAT, WHAT, WHAT?’* And then he even had the audacity to tell Phil that he learned Korean in so-so weeks! *My gosh! The air coming from him!! It was like watching a human typhoon, wind gusts reaching 250 km/hr! Mahangin talaga sa seats namin!!!* Want more hilarious stuff? Here it goes. Phil was asking me if I knew how to dive, well, I told him I don’t know yet but I’d like to in the future. I told him instead that I snorkel and there are great sites in Boracay, Carbin Reef, Bantayan Island.. and I’ve been told Danjugan Island too. Now, he asked the same from Marvin coz Marvin offered to take him around Negros while he was there. So, could Marvin, in fact, help Phil in his quest to find the great diving sites and the natural underwater treasures of the Philippines? *Drum roll please!* And then he told Phil.. he has never snorkeled and he doesn’t even know how to swim. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Reliability to help Phil... 17 out of a potential 100!!
Well, for the rest of the f*cking ride from Caticlan to Jaro, Iloilo, all we heard were his f*cking kayabangan. Except for an intermission, when this girl entered the bus, she looked like she came from a nightclub with flickering lights (People, I know that you know these kinds of bars.. *wink, wink*).. what she was wearing was complete with sequins and stuff. Anyway, it didn’t escape the eyes of Milan, sabay tadyak kay Lynor immediately! Gets guid dayon sang tanan!!! Another intermission from Marvin’s tikal, bus stop to get some food. This one particularly agitated Milan. He came back to the bus and I could see the flames coming out of his eyes and ears while he animatedly told me *The nerve of this restaurant!! They charge more compared to the restaurants in Boracay! And look where they are situated.. in the MIDDLE OF A PALAYAN!! The nerve to charge that much! And they even had scripture lines written in the walls, yet they are ripping us off!*
When we got to Jaro, it was quite a reprieve from Marvin’s kayabangan! Little did we know that it was time for another significant event. During one of the jeepney rides, RJ suddenly turned and stared very sharply at this guy sitting beside her. We didn’t know what happened then. But then RJ told us that the guy was making ‘pasimple touch-touch the boobs and butt’.. maniac pala!! Ang gago niya!! Si RJ, harassed sa jeepney! My goodness, the adventures and misadventures never end.
Let’s cut to the boat terminal.. we were early for a change.. we didn’t have to catch anything while running. So this time, na-stress kami because we weren’t on the run. So picture-picture na lang. And I had time to eat the Andok’s chicken, the only one left who hadn’t eaten lunch coz RJ, Milan, and Lynor had already eaten theirs at the bus stop in Caticlan.. and the chicken and rice were eaten like a sandwich.. maabilidad!!! But off course, before eating, hygiene muna.. no alcohol, no alcogel, so make do with wet wipes.. wipe the hands, then after wiping the hands, wipe the face and neck, and keep the wet wipes, eat the chicken and rice like a sandwich, after eating.. use the wet wipes as tongue brush.. abilidad din yon!! Before boarding, all of us had a collective objective.. to be seated as far away from Marvin as possible.. because we saw him in the boat terminal too. And, by a stroke of luck, he was seated just 2 seats away from us!! Damn! What luck! What luck indeed.. because of the proximity of his seat.. we caught some of his conversations with his friends.. and what a REVELATION! He was getting stressed in the boat!! But why? Because he was no longer seated beside Phil!!! Apparently, Phil had the same objective as us.. to be seated as far away from Marvin as possible.. coz his seat was miles away from Marvin.. MWAHAHAHA!!! Now, things could be pieced together.. all that kayabangan was to possibly impress Phil... Mwahahaha!!! MAN IS A LOGICAL ANIMAL... EVERYTHING IS DONE FOR A REASON!!!
Now, time for us to get crazy! The 4 of us, realizing that Marvin has become a very juicy topic for my blog, labored in very imaginative and creative ways to get a picture of Marvin. Let’s start with taking pictures of the 4 of us.. doesn’t work.. then RJ posed on the pole (para hindi halata!).. as if RJ is the actual subject (btw, while RJ was posing, the guy behind him didn’t know if he’d smile or pasimple no reaction.. we’re not interested in you honey, if you only knew), RJ was just a decoy, a deceipt within a deceiptful motive, let’s move on, now it’s Milan in action.. and VOILA!! Marvin Yu Zapanta! You can almost hear the tikal from his facial expression. Mission accomplished!!
Boat docks in Bacolod.. didn’t I tell you would get a push, a pull, a grab or an elbow from one of my friends if you try to cut yourself in front of one of my friends.. well, this time it was because of loitering while everybody was going out.. the culprit.. Marvin.. the pusher.. RJ!!
Dewey meets us at the dock.. and off we go to get some dinner.. destination Jollibee Take Out. Everybody had straightforward orders, and then my turn, ‘So if I don’t want drinks, I don’t get drinks but I still pay the same amount as the combo with drinks?’.. Lynor was pretty quick to remind me of my meticulousness.. she simply reminded me of my line: “Ano ni ang fresh apple juice? Apple juice sa tetra pack nga gin butang sa baso?”
The end pips!
August naman?
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