Month: April 2016

Bohol Day 3: foodie

April 23, 2016

I’m not sure if this day was Earth Day but been seeing “Happy Earth Day” on my social media timeline so here’s an Earth Day #OOTD.
I so like the “silhig tukog” of the resort’s staff. They had a different way of binding that it’s more “bukad” and lighter. If only it’s easy to hide it so I could take one with me home.
The resort has this path lined with bamboos. It feels like I was either in Japan or in the land of Panda.

Whole day was spent by the kids on the pool. That’s why I kind don’t really like much resorts with pool because I prefer to soak myself in the sea but then kids prefer more the pool so I had not much choice.

In between lounging at the pool, we were foodie-ing.

We could not miss the ice cream at Bohol Bee Farm. I feel that their ice cream here tastes much better than their branch in Cebu especially when you’re sitting on their wooden bench under the trees.

Later in the afternoon, I could not help but explore the beach on my own. 

Dinner was pizza, which made me realized thaf everyone in this family loves pizza except I. 

They love pool, and I love the sea. They love pizza, and I love siopao which they also love.

Bohol Day 2: Sierra Bullones

April 22, 2015.
When you’re asked of where you’ve been to, then you answer “SIERRA BULLONES” instead of just “Bohol.” It sounds like you were off to somewhere more romantic and exotic like Santorini or Ibiza (Not to underestimate The exoticness of Bohol but you know what I mean.). It sounds like Sarah Barelleis. Sierra Bullones.

Sierra Bullones, Bohol. So we did not really stay in this place. But I just love the name “Sierra Bullones” roll in my tongue. I just want to say and write it over and over again, SIERRA BULLONES.

The word made me think back of those uneventful afternoons sitting on my desk in Grade 4 classroom in Badian Central School spent on reading the History book where it probably mentioned Sierra Bullones as where Francisco Dagohoy ran and hide. I probaby just made that up. But seeing the beautiful mountain range of Sierra Bullones, it’s nice to visualize Dagohoy hiking / running there.

(Brave biker under the heat of the sun along Sierra Bullones road.)

So back to our Day 2 in the beautiful island of Bohol, we checked out of Danao Adventure Park as we’d be spending the rest of the Bohol “vacation” in Panglao island together with the 90% of the “tourists.”

(Morning walk at Danao Adventure Park before checking out.)

I love morning walks because it’s when you see the world like this, when you cannot help but feel very grateful just because so. 

So the bestest part of Danao Adventure Park in Bohol for me was just simply roaming around it, and their no-frills home-cooked meal.

The usual (more popular) route of going to Tagbilaran / Panglao Island is via Sagbayan then Carmen (where the famous Chocolate Hills view deck is), but we opted to do the SIERRA BULLONES route down to Jagna. From Jagna, it’s pretty straightforward to Tagbilaran / Panglao Island then.
I know now why the Sierra Bullones route is not so popular because it’s like passing Transcentral Highway of Cebu. But of course, the view high up in the mountain is always worth it.

The other reason why we opted for the Sierra Bullones route was because we wanted to have lunch in Jagna at Idea Pensionne / Garden Cafe. It’s the same of that Garden Cafe in Tagbilaran whose staff are mostly deaf-mute. (We just really have to make up this reason though.)

Then, finally Panglao Island. We stayed at  Maribago Bluewater because we have these unused membership card aka discount coupons and food stamps. 
When Mark asked how did I find the resort, “It’s like we’re in Cebu.” Jowk. Sierra Bullones. 

Bohol Day 1: That Different Kind of Bohol

April 21, 2016

It was probably in 2012 that I first set foot in Bohol to join a fun run. Ever since then, there’s not a year that I have not visited this island. So somehow, I kind of memorize the different touristy spots of this place. I mean we have the same itinerary every time we come here: bohol bee farm ice cream, alona beach for the bohol bee farm ice cream, yet another eat-all-you-can you don’t need at loboc river cruise, the chocolate hills, garden cafe, cafe lawis, and all those tarsier-butterfly-snake watching along the way.

So this time we decided to go to a new place, yet still another touristy, Danao Adventure Park. But it’s a different kind of Bohol than what I was used to. It was unusual to see signboards of the resort very faded thus it was a bit of a challenge finding it, aside that it’s in some mountain area of what somewhat to be in the middle of nowhere in Bohol. 
That was an exaggeration description. 🙂 It was actually because they have not recovered from the massive earthquake 2 years ago thus we did not see the usual flock of tourist vans plighting the route. Unlike in Panglao and the other destinations in a typical Bohol itinerary of touring vans, the Danao Adventure Park is kinda struggling to bounce back. But the staff are doing the most with what is left of it.
(Our accommodation, house in the woods.)

(In the inside, we have a good view of the woods. Well, it feels like our home back in Badian.)

There were still a number of visitors doing the paid activities like caving, and their best-selling zipline. Their other adventure activities are stopped as they’re destroyed by the earthquake.

I’m not so fond of “zipline-y” kind of resort but this time, I cannot help but feel so sad and wish I love to do the zipline.
We wanted to do the river trekking but they stopped it because the river is dumped with big rocks, it’s hard to pass through the river trail. Caving is only for at least 15yrs old and up, so I settle for the root climbing as this the only activity that can let us go closer to the river as Mati wanted to do some swimming. And, I thought it’s a no-brainer.
The trek to the “root” was really fun.

When we arrived at this huge root, watching the 90 degree angle made it easy for me to say NO. But Migi wanted to do it.
(With one of the guides, Philip.)

While I was looking after Mateo dipping into the river, I turned around and saw that Migi was already halfway of his climb. Gawd, I hate that I miss the whole thing from the start.

And, he rappeled back to the ground.

Oh boy, I am sooo proud of my #bebeboy #1!

It’s nice how 3 little people have a different take with nature.
Migi chose to climb.

Mati lounged in the river.

While Meg simply lounged. 🙂

The boys took a dip for a few minutes before heading back to our house in the woods.

The best part is we got a family picture. The last one was at Canso-X. Trail guides do love to take family photos. 🙂

Thank you to our guides from Danao Adventure Park, Philip and Albert. 

And, it was nice to come “home” to a home-cooked meal prepared by the staff.
It was a different kind of Bohol, that touristy feels but the staff are so home-y. 🙂

#thatawkwardmoment in Parenting

Migi, #kid1, had been asking me since March to get him some new clothes because most of his’ no longer fit him. So finally, I was able to bring him to the bigger SM, SM Cebu City. 
Migi’s the “sexiest” in the family so it was never hard to pick clothes for him. But this time, it was a challenge. The kids’ department sizes were too small for him, but then the teens’ department were also too big for him. 
Plus he no longer wants the clothes with cartoon character prints, and he also asked for a pair of sneakers. And his voice is also getting deeper.
So it’s like AWKWARD. I still find him too baby to talk to him about adult stuff, but then he’s no-longer-that-baby to be still treated like a baby. 
It’s awkward, and I’m kind of lost as this stage is no longer covered in the “What to expect when you’re expecting” or those baby books. I really do not know how to do this stage. So maybe feed him pizza.

So when he picked his plain red slippers, which size also fits me, I also pick one that is most colorful slippers for #kid3 Mateo. Because one day soon, no one will want to wear this annoyingly colorful stuff in this family.
#OOTD of his picks. I wished he said yes to the Big Hero shirt though. 

BGC, Taguig Day 3: Uber Eat

Feeling ko wala akong ginawa sa araw na ito kon di sumakay ng Uber at kumain / inom ng kape.
Nagsimula ang araw namin ng uber patungo sa SM MOA para sa fun run, Batman vs Superman (magsulat ako ng mahaba-hanang kwento doon sa runroo.com. Hinihintay ko lang malipat ang internet sa bago naming inuupahan na bahay. PLDT, huwag niyo naman sana paabutin ng 1 buwan ang aksyon nyo sa aming “maliit” na request.). Ito ang una kong fun run since June 2015, pagkatapos ng magkasakit / pumanaw aking nanay kaya ang saya ko lang nakabalik.
Medyo ma traffic patungo MOA kaya “late” kami sa fun run. Pero mabuti na din yon kasi nakasabay namin ng iilang minuto ang MGA artista na “late” din. Abangan nyo na lang sa runroo.com kung sino ang nakita ko.
Pagkatapos ay bilis kaming umalis ni Chay sa MOA. Ang dami kasing tao ng fun run dito pala sa Manila. Nalilipong ako.

Gusto ko sana magsakay ng MRT pero wala na akong enerhiya makigsiksikan na naman ulit. Kaya uber na naman kami. 
Pumunta kami balik aa Condo sa BGC pero wala kaming dalang foods. Kinuha namin si Mark para mag pamahaw. 
And so the Uber Eat / coffee crawl routine begins:
But first let us take a pose.

Sa Kuppa Roastery, it’s somewhere near Burgos Circle.
#foodblogger
I love my Ben’s Cappuccino. Ben is the name of the owner of Kuppa.
Mark was so happy with his eggs… benedict.

Pagkatapos ng almusal namin. Nag uber kami pabalik condo pero wala pa rin kaming dalang foods. Pagkatapos ay iniwan na namin si Mark. 
Nag uber kami patungo sa condo ni Chay. Nagpangkabuhayan showcase muna sya. Pagdating ng alas 3, nag uber kami patungo Makati.
Medyo parang “ghost town” ang area ng Makati na napuntahan nami dahil daw kasi Sabado. Ang ganda lang tingnan, para syang yung mga street scene ng New York sa movie skaya let me take a pose.

Sa Yardstick, ultimate coffee gears / machine porn pagka pasok mo lang sa coffee shop na ito. May video ako pinost dito https://instagram.com/p/BD-Ju1BuNTd/.
#foodblogger

Flat white ata order ko. 

“Steam punk” ang order ni Chay. Para syang cold brew na pour over.

Pagkatapos dito, hindi na kami nag uber Kasi nga New York feels kaya aliw na alow kami pa lakad2x sa mga eskinita.

May gusto kaming pupuntahan na cafe pero nawala kami, and we ended up sa The Curator. Hindi din sya madaling hanapin kasi nasa loob sya ng gusali at walang signboard sa labas. 

Speakeasy daw tawag sa mga ganitong lugar, iyong nakatago sa liblib.

Parang hanggang 530pm lang ata ang pagtinda nila ng kape kasi sa gabi, cocktail drinks naman ang gawa nila. Sakto lang kami umabot doon ng 5pm.
Medyo “intimidating” talaga ang place sa una. Pero super cool lang ng mga baristas. 
Most of all, kuhang-kuha nila ang templa ng kape namin. Sinabi ko na gusto ko yung medyo mokapot na klase ng espresso strength na cappuccino. Ang “confusing” ng description ko sa kape ko pero nakuha nila! Wow! Amazing lang!
Defo this is a worthy coffee hunt to do. The owner of this place is the same owner of EDSA Beverage so I guess that’s worth a trip to do next time. 
Chay’s

Mine 🙂

They gave us free sampler of their spicy chocolate cookie! It was also yum!
On top of the barista, Micah, gave Chay a quick lesson on latte art. It was so cool to see her behind the bar.

Pagkatapos ay we had to call it a day, got uber-ed back to the BGC for dinner at SM Aura. We got too tired to go around BGC. 


Let me end this uber litany with a #mugshot. 🙂

BCG, Taguig Day 2: Kapitolyo ng Pilipinas

Para sa akin ang boung Luzon ay Manila. Ang Quezon City ay Manila City, pati ang Cavite ay Manila, Bulacan ay Manila, lahat na lang Manila. 
Kaya gusto ko talaga makapunta sa Manila City, Metro Manila ng matukoy ko kung ano talaga ito. Kaya ng sinabi ni Karla na magpunta sya sa National Library para sa ISBN ng Pansitpoetry (Orders & Inquiries for Pansitpoetry book: email kquimsing@gmail.com / msg @damgocebu over IG, also available at Kapehan Ceferina in Cabancalan, Mandaue.), dali-dali akong sinabi na sasama ako. Sumakay kami sa sakyanan ng Tita ni Karla kaya medyo sosyal ang pag-lilibang namin. 

At saka excited din ako makakita ng napakalaking aklatan. Gustong gusto ko talaga magpalarawan na ang background ay “bookshelves” para sabihing “intellectual at cultured.”
Kaya lang “under renovation” pala ang National Library. Kaya walang “intellectual cultured fashion blogger” photoshoot na nangyari. 
Kung ito makikita mong status ng mga aklat doon, parang “let’s offer a moment of silence for the death of Pinoy brains” ang feeling ko kaysa mag #fashionblogger pose.

Medyo malungkot noh? Medyo mahiya naman ako, hanep kaka selfie sa mga malls pero “library” natin waley. @.@ #priorities
Pero “on the bright side,” ito ang pag-asa ng ating literatura! Ang mga “writer” na nagpupursige sumulat kahit medyo pahirapan ang pag-publish.
(Karla with Nat’l Library staff.)

Para ituloy ang cultural exposure namin, pumunta kami sa Intramuros. Sumakay kami ng karwahi na may kabayo. P50 taga tao ang plete, at may P75/head na entrance sa Intramuros, then P10/head kung gusto mo pumasok sa Rizal Museum.
Hindi naman pala gaano malaki ang Intramuros. Naaliw ako sa “dungeon” at sa Pasig River. 

Seguro mas aliw kon may “tour guide” kami para ma appreciate ko ng husto ang “historical value” ng lugar.
Ang pinaka highlight para sa akin ay ang makita ko ang napakalumang “Noli Me Tangere” at “El Filibusterismo.” Parang sulat-kamay pa ang mga kopya nila. Seguro hindi lang ako nakabasa ng maraming aklat ng mga Pinoy authors, feeling ko kasi ang mga aklat lang ni Rizal ang masabi ko na “truly intellectual” na pagkasulat. 

Pagbalik namin sa BGC ay na experience naman namin ang cultural phenomenon na EDSA traffic. Nakakainis pero “deep inside” nasisyahan ako kasi nasinati ko ang isang “most talked about attraction” sa lahat ng media. Pero hindi talaga sya masaya lalo Na ng naiihi si Mayang. Nasaisip ko ibigay ko kaya ang kopya ng Pansitpoetry ko kay Mayang para doon sya mag-ihi. Pero malaking Congratulations sa kaniya kasi nakaabot pa talaga ang wee-wee nya sa BGC.
At iyon, sa Biyernes ng April 8, 2016, the day before Araw ng Kagitingan, nakapunta na talaga ako sa Manila City!
Iba pang maraming larawan kuha sa Day 2:
Noong nag “jogging” kami sa umaga:

Noong naglibot kami sa Intramuros

Panihapon sa Cafe Juanita

BGC, Taguig Day 1: High Life / Buhay sa Ibabaw

Pagkatapos naming mag-ikot sa BGC sa pinaka unang panahon, umakyat kami pabalik sa condo unit pero wala kaming dalang foods. Hubad ako para magbihis ng tumunog ang “fire alarm.” 

Shempre tumingkag ang dunggan ko. Pero di muna kami umimik kasi baka false alarm. Pero nag alarm ulit, at ng ulit at hindi na sya natapos. Tiempo din na may ambulansya or patrol na nag sirena dumaan sa ibaba
Tumingkag na ang buhok sa boung katawan ko. Dali-dali kong sinaplutan ang hubad na katawan ko, kinuha ang backpack at lumabas. Iniwan ko na ang maleta ng #OOTD ko. Tumungo na ako sa fire exit, at handa na akong lumipad from 38th floor patungong ibaba pero napa hinto ako kasi wala pa si mark. Bumalik ako dahil paano ang aking “buhay” kung wala si mark.
Sabi niya na mag elevator lang kami. Ayoko kasi baka ma trapped kami. Pero sabi nagpilit sya kaya doon elevator kami.
Bihirang elevator ito, pumunta pa sa itaas para magkuha ng sasakay. #huhubels Medyo na kalma ako ng ang mga sumakay ay relaks lang, parang wala lang nangyari. At sabi nila, parang wala naman sunog. Kaso lang ang fire alarm hindi pa rin huminto sa kaka-alarm.
Para na akong mamatay sa takot pero yung mga trabahante parang wala lang. ANO BA ITO? JOKE BA ITO?!? 

Ang dami kong “sigh of relief” ng kinumpirma ng mga security at receptionists na walang sunog. 
At iyon ang “welcome with a bang” sa pagdating ko sa BGC. Ano ba naman?!? Ngayon nga lang ako maka experience ng “high life,” ginanito pa ako. Parang ayaw ni “high life” sa akin.
Napatanto ako, hindi pala ganoon kadali ang high life aka magtira sa mataas na gusali. Parang gusto kong bumili ng parachute bago babalik sa 38th floor para kung may sunog o lindol, tatalon na lang ako gamit parachute. 
So that pretty sums up my Day 1 in BGC, Taguig, Metro Manila.

Iba pang mga larawan sa Day 1:

First time kong nakasakay ng 2-aisle na eroplano! Hanglaki!

Biruin mo nagkasabay pala kami nila Stacey, Pam, Leo, at Roy sa eroplano.

Nagsimula kami sa paglibot ng BGC sa pagkaing ng ramen sa Ramen Nagi. Ang sarap pero ang laki ng ramen parang gusto ko uli kumain sa 2017 na!

Ito litrato ko sa SM Aura. 

Nagshopping ako sa Market Market, katabing mall sa SM Aura. Pero hindi “succulents” ang binili. Mga bato-bato na bracelets ang binili ko.

Nag kape kami sa Cafe de Lipa. Parang ito ata ang pinaka barato na kapehan na pasukan namin sa boung “stay” namon.

(Ang mga bato sa kamay ko ang na shopping ko pala.)

Nag ikot pa kami more. Medyo napagod ako kaya posing muna ako. Sa Serendra ito, sa banda na nabalita noon na bumoto. Kaya super sensitive ng fire alarm nila.

Sa gabi, nagkita kami lahat except Stacey at nagkain doon sa Yabu dahil sabi daw ni Poy. Melts in your mouth ang pork chop nila. Pero dahil Japanese food, Katsudon ang tawag sa pork chop.

Japanese food lang ang peg ng araw kong ito.
(Hindi kami iyan. Wala akong photo dito aa celphone ko.)

Naglibot na naman uli kami doon sa tinawag na Bonifacio High Street. O di ba, “high” life talaga!

Parang Louvre(sp?) lang.
Tumambay kami sa Fullybooked kasi we’re so learned and intellectual. Ang swerte ko nakakuha ng last copy nila ng “Pour your heart into it.” Hindi ko na makita ang lumang copy namin kaya ang saya ko ng makakita ng kopya uli. I love this book hindi dahil gusto ko ng kape (I read it before I was a #coffeesnob.) pero magandan talaga ang story ni Howard Schultz ng sinimulan nya ang Starbucks.

Pero super saya ko at LAKING GULAT KO NG MAKITA NAMIN ANG PANSITPOETRY ni Karla Quimsing na naka display sa Fullybooked!

Sa mga naghahanap ng Pansitypoetry copy, detalye sa ibaba kung paano makakuha ng kopya:

Orders & Inquiries for Pansitpoetry book: email kquimsing@gmail.com / msg @damgocebu over IG.

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Pizza and Pansit(poetry) Date

Orders & Inquiries for Pansitpoetry book: email kquimsing@gmail.com / msg @damgocebu over IG.

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It was kind of an April Fool’s Day joke when I found myself with my 10-year old daughter in a crowd of college kids geeking over poetry at Handuraw organized by UP TINTA. Somehow, they make me feel old and I’m their mother chaperoning them on their Friday night-out. 

But they’re not really kids when they can already get the sarcasm or the sexual tones of the “balak,” right? 
Anyhow, it was just awesomely amazing to see a very big tight crowd for a “poetry” event. Like seriously, Cebu is becoming a “reading” city?!? It feels like where was I, did I miss on something, when did this happen?!? 

Back in college, I remember I “tried” joining a poetry group, or was it literary group, and there were probably less than 10 people who attended it. While I was mainly there because the president was a “crush.” And I only lasted up to 2 meetings. Looking back at it, I wish I sticked to it a little longer.
I’m not a poetry person. For me, poetry needs some kind of an extra “creativity” to enjoy it, which I don’t have. But that what makes poetry interesting to me, the mystery of how do people “love” it. 
The first time I was able to appreciate the beauty of poetry was when we were made to read a Rabindranath Tagore poem by Mdm Pinzon, our Asian lit teacher in high school. And only 1 classmate of ours was able to fully understand the poem. And there’s that certain kind of “fire” in her eyes when she read the poem, and then interpret it to us. Isn’t that amazing that a poem can bring out that certain “fire” in a person! (That classmate is now a judge.)
So it’s like I’m not that interested with poetry, but I’m interested with its effect on some people — how people can  lose theirselves in it.

So I was there with Meg because she’s been saying that she wants to be a published author. And, I’m not really sure if she understands what does it really mean so I brought her there so she could see a published author in person. 
But the closest we were able to get to see the author, Karla Quimsing, was the “book booth” because it was really full-packed. It was a happy great kind of full-packed! 

So we got 2 copies and went home as Meg’s already complaining of being squeezed. So I told her that if you want to be a published author, you need to be thankful about a crowd.  Some #lifechanging assvice! @.@

On our taxi ride going home, we talked about book publishing and the book cover art. It was nice to see an eeny weeny spark in her on this kind of stuff. But Somehow it kind of worries me what if she would really pursue that path, I might end up buying a crowd and her books because I will really feel so bad to see her disappointed. @.@
Or I’ll buy pizza. It’s said that it can heal all disappointments! 🙂
We made a pact that we’ll do our own monthly story telling of our written stuff. Now I’m pressured. I hope I don’t disappoint myself or I’ll buy pizza. 🙂

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Orders & Inquiries for Pansitpoetry book: email kquimsing@gmail.com / msg @damgocebu over IG.

April Fool’s Move

After a monthlong of talking about this move, we finally move to the new slightly bigger house (which is just in the same subdivision) last April 1. Or more of like the new sleeping quarters because we still eat at the old house because Ate Mona stays there, and food is where Ate Mona is. I felt like a fool going back-and-forth.

It’s a bit complicated at this moment, and I still do not know how to make sense of our set-up. It’s tad difficult to explain to the neighbor’s, to my kids’ friends about our back-and-forth trips between two houses. That thing when people don’t understand what you are doing, you then also start to question what you are doing.   So for now, I feel we’re stupid for making this decision.
Maybe in a few weeks, we’ll have a better new systemc, and I’ll feel a little less fool. 
Or maybe until the internet is moved here, in the new house, that’s probably when I could say we’re finally settled in and everything would then be sensible . 🙂 
So home is where the internet is, and the fools too.
(Our April’s fool: binignit not on Holy Week.)