Random Detox » Career

Living in Makati

Flisha — Sat, 21 May 2011 16:42:55 +0000

My favorite store in the mall nearest my place is Handyman Home Center. They sell all kinds of stuff, from tables to stoves to shower curtains. The other day, they were having a ginormous sale, and Gim and I had such a fun time picking out stuff!

Gim got a flat iron at 50% off. Hardly any of my clothes need to be pressed, so I never got around to buying one. However, most of his wardrobe are polos and slacks. His work is more casual, but he dresses fancier. LOL. In the three weeks that he’s been working, he’s already had dinners in Shangri-La and symposiums at St Luke’s. AND he got two credit cards by merely possessing a PRC card!!! Plus, he’s been recently offered a free out-of-town trip to Laoag for a conference (though he had to turn it down due to a prior commitment). I’m so green with jealousy!! In two years I’ve worked with my company, there’s never been any free travel. Shucks. What job should I switch to that’s high-paying, stress-free, and has about 30% travel?? Or is there no such job in IT?

Anyway, I got a bottle of scented reed. It’s lavender, and only a hundred pesos. It smells great, but after a week, the scented oil is half gone. Aw. Evaporates fast.

I also got a shoe rack, finally! Only three hundred pesos. I hate a messy floor, and Gim hates a messy room. (The bonus of having him here is he keeps my room clean all the time, hihihi!)

I also got a corner table with four tiers, which I love since I have a lot of stuff, so now I have a place for books and additional things. Since my other divider is already full with knickknacks.

What else did I get? Oh, I was eyeing a stool, too. Though with my recent purchase of a sofa (at the new Home Depot here in Makati), there’s really so little room left, so maybe I’ll hold on that.

So much fun buying things for the home. I hope someday I finally get my own house so I can decorate even more.

Tags: Makati, The Yuppy Life

Emptying My Mind

Flisha — Thu, 05 May 2011 18:07:37 +0000

I need to find some creatine reviews. Can creatine increase my brain power? Isn’t the brain a muscle? LOL. My doctor boyfriend will kill me for being so clueless.

Truthfully, HP work is really grueling. I feel like my mind is puddles right now. Like literally it is melting in my head with all the pressure to complete things and push people to do things and take accountability for everything… I don’t know how long I can last. Sometimes I get 10 emails within 5 minutes. As I always say, my favorite button is the delete button.

Tomorrow I have a whole-day meeting with people who are interested in the exact opposite of what I am interested in. They’re the movers, I’m the control. It’s gonna be frustrating, I can tell.

Sometimes, pasting a smile on my face takes a lot more effort than you think.

I need a long vacation.

Tags: The Yuppy Life

Welcome to Manila, Gim!

Flisha — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:13:30 +0000

I am not fond of all those FourSquare updates or tweets. I don’t use FourSquare and I cringe for those who do. I feel that broadcasting your location real-time is a huge mistake – it makes you vulnerable to electronic pickpocketing or even worse – people knowing you’re away from your house and making your home vulnerable to robberies!

Besides, I would hate for everyone to know how boring my life is. My FourSquare update would probably always say “Flisha is at home.” But things are about to change!

My wonderful boyfriend has come to Manila! Yes! He got himself a job as a “clinical scientist” or “life scientist” at the Cancer Institute, Philippines General Hospital. How prestigious!!! Hahah! Basically they perform clinical tests on the effectivity of certain drugs. He gets free food, the hours are great and the pay is sufficient. I am so jealous!!! Not like me, where the hours are crazy (the person whose role I am replacing tells me she gets in at 1pm and goes home by 5am. What???), the pay is depressing and the pressure of work can almost make you suicidal.

I should have studied medicine. Anyway, I am so glad for my boyfriend! He gets his dream job and he gets to be with his dream girl. Perfect, right? Hahahah!!!

Here’s to weekends with the one you love. ♥

Tags: The Yuppy Life

Fitness First Membership Fee

Flisha — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 17:06:27 +0000

There’s a Fitness First branch in my office building Robinson’s Summit Center in Ayala, Makati. I have long wanted to join a gym, especially this branch since it’s so convenient, but my company has a corporate membership at Gold’s Gym. We get the full package at a fraction of the original price, so it’s very tempting to join Gold’s instead. The problem is that Gold’s Gym is quite far away, it’s a 30-minute walk from the office and a jeepney away from my home.

So when Deal Grocer offered a two-week voucher at Fitness First for only Php400, I jumped at the chance. I just wanted to see and try out the gym. But it was not a very good experience. The first day I got there, a sales lady let me sit down and immediately started hawking their packages.

She spent an hour of my time persuading me to get their package.

Her first offer to me was this:

Monthly Due – 3800
Joining Fee – 4000
Admin Fee – 2100
BodyFirst (Optional) – 1885
Total – 11,785

Can you believe she wanted Php11,785 upfront for the first month of membership?!? What the hell? Why is there a joining fee PLUS an admin fee? And the BodyFirst program? It just means you get 3 hours’ worth of personal training (no, this is not a per month service, this is just a one-time thing plus 3 books on fitness). Crazy! She couldn’t even explain to me the difference between the joining and the admin fees. Or why they were so big.

I would have high-tailed it outta there if they wanted me to pay 11,000 freakin’ pesos for a month’s worth of membership. Did I mention a month at Gold’s for me was only 1,100??? That’s including the one-time personal training sessions!

Then the sales lady said that since it was my first time visiting their club, they had a “First Visit Promo” which means they would waive my joining fee, and the admin fee would go down to 1500 only, and they would offer me an ongoing 2,300 monthly due. So, total I would pay initially would be 3,800 only. But I had to pay via credit card. Uh-oh. I had heard about this scam. FF would dramatically cut down fees so they get access to your credit card, but once they had that data, they were gonna charge you forever. Even if you asked to “freeze” or terminate your contract after term expiration, it wouldn’t happen. They were just gonna charge you every month until you terminate your credit card just so the charges will stop – and that’s if your credit card company will let you terminate given you have pending charges.

So I immediately said NO. Not charging my credit card. Then she said, what about your parents? Don’t they have credit cards? Or sisters/brothers/relatives? I looked at her weirdly and just said NO. Then she mentioned I had arrived with a friend (my officemate who works out at FF and I coincidentally arrived in the same elevator so she saw us talking). Why couldn’t I use *his* credit card, then? Was she high?!? Why would I use someone else’s credit card if I didn’t want to risk my own? I told her NO, using a credit card is not an option for me.

So the third option was cash. She told me joining fee would be 1,000, admin fee would be 1,500, monthly fee would be 2,900, plus 387 for the April fee. What April fee?? She said something like, oh because there are still a few days left in April so you have to pay for that. And I’m so confused because I have a voucher from DealGrocer. I am *fully paid* for the month of April. And she says, yes yes we already discounted your April fee because of your DealGrocer voucher or else it would be much bigger. At this point I just wanted to throttle her because I had no idea what she was talking about. Here I am fully paid for April and she’s trying to make me think I need to pay more and I should even be grateful they made the fees lower. Hello!!!

I said NO, isn’t there a way you can lower the fees? It boiled down to a total of 5,787 for the first month by the way. It just sounds so horribly wrong to pay for April when I am *already* paid for April. I wanted her to remove the 387 fee. I was even ready to think about that crazy monthly of 2,900!!!

But she wouldn’t, and even referred me to her boss, who tried all the same tactics she did, except the boss looked a bit more taray and tried to persuade me more strongly. Unfortunately for her, I don’t like mataray people and she turned me off more than the first sales lady. I told her the same thing, can’t you lower the fees? I told her that it’s not like I don’t have options. I have Gold’s Gym which is a lot cheaper, so they should offer me a more competitive package. And she just kept repeating bullshit about how I need to value my fitness, and this is the price of fitness and convenience, blah blah. Finally, because it seemed like I wasn’t budging, she said OK, I’ll try to talk to my boss about this. (Another boss?? How many do I have to go through with?) But can you give a downpayment of 500?

At this point, I raised my eyebrow and just said my favorite word of the hour, NO. What the eff? I have to pay 500 just so she can talk to her boss? To me it seemed like a bribe.

She gave up and returned me to the original sales lady and by that time I had spent too much time in the gym so I decided to activate my membership the following day. (It went well and they didn’t bug me all that much anymore, they just let me work out, which is all I wanted in the first place.)

What crazy fees, huh? No wonder so many people are turned off by Fitness First. I’m still hoping they call me and offer a better package, but I’m not holding my breath.

Tags: Fitness First, The Yuppy Life

Chef Jessie, Rockwell

Flisha — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:26:48 +0000

This is so months ago, but I wanted to dump our photos so here we go.

Thanks to Deal Grocer, I got two coupons for a brunch buffet at Chef Jessie’s in Rockwell Makati, and ate so much it almost disabled me (hello SSDI?). It was touted as a French-Mediterranean spread so I was super excited. And at only P700 per person thanks to the 50% off coupon, it was a great deal.

We got served some fruit juice mixed with vodka, I think. I took a sip and hated it. Gim took a sip and loved it. But none of us drank it, because Gim was on his self-imposed alcohol break due to the pending medical boards. Actually he kept shooting me nasty looks since I wouldn’t drink it, hahah. He wanted me to drink for the both of us, since it was a shame to leave the cocktails untouched when he was itching to dump them down his throat. But everyone who knows me knows I can’t stand the taste of alcohol, so I shot the nasty looks right back at him. LOL.

Unfortunately I didn’t take a photo of the spread, just a few photos of our plates and me and Gim. But I mostly enjoyed the bacon, as you can see from my photos. Hahaha. Though I have no idea how that is French or Mediterranean?? There was also some slices of meat, but a bit too raw for my taste. Gim enjoyed kept coming back those, though. I loved the beef chunks roasted in garlic. Best dish of the meal!

There were lots of eggs. Poached, bedeviled, omellettes. Some caviar too. And some fruits. But you know what was lacking? Pastries!! I really thought there would be cakes and baguettes and all sorts of breads. Like you’d expect from a French buffet. But unfortunately, their idea of French pastry was chocolate cupcakes. Meh.

My final say on this spread would be that it was a fail on a choice of foods. But it if weren’t labeled French-Mediterranean, I would’ve found no fault.

Here come the photos!

More random shots below.

Tags: Foods, Rockwell, The Yuppy Life

Car Troubles

Flisha — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:09:07 +0000

A few days ago, walking down V.A Rufino St on my way home from work, I saw a whole line of cars being towed away to – um – carjail, I guess.

And I don’t think the cars had any of those sensible curt trailer hitches. Like below.

See, the whole street is full of these signs. But people park their cars along the street anyway.

I didn’t get a picture, but it was not a pretty sight! Gleaming cars being towed away by the ugliest rusty tow trucks you could imagine! Not unlike the tow truck below.

And people on the streets on their cellphones frantically calling their friends…

The damage to those cars. Tsk tsk. I wonder how much you have to fork over to get your car back if it’s towed away for illegal parking?

Morale lesson, better to lose a hundred a day on parking than your entire car in a minute! Or, like me, why don’t you just get a taxi.

Tags: The Yuppy Life

Cute Sticky Notes

Flisha — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:31:02 +0000

I am looking for office supplies online, wonder where I can get some?

Preferably of the cute variety, like…

…this!

…or an adorable assortment of thingamajigs like this!

…or a notebook/pen owlie like this!

…or a bunch of pineapple stickies like these!

…or a swirly thingy like this!

…or a funny monkey sticky like this!

…or a sweet little sheep sticky like this!

…or a red apply sticky like this!

…or adorable little sticky note holders like these!

I don’t know what came over me. Ever since I came back from Japan, suddenly I’ve been needing a whole lot of cute in my life. Like stuff toys hanging from my bags and cellphones. Like Babydoll’s accessorized gun in Suckerpunch. That kind of cute.

I remember coming back after a harried day of frantic last-minute Japanese shopping in Umeda, Osaka. I got cute little cat/deer/dog/squirrel/what-animal-have-you phone accessories. I also got sheep, dog and cat cable holders in pink, yellow and light blue. The only non-cute thing I got, but still pushing cute, was a zipper accessory for Gim’s phone. I say pushing cute because really what’s a zipper doing dangling from your phone aside from being cute? Eh?

So, what do you think of these sticky notes? So kawaii, don’t you think???

Tags: Japan, The Yuppy Life

A Date with Gim

Flisha — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 19:11:48 +0000

You would think that I am so used to dating Gim by now (since it’s been almost ten years!!) that another date wouldn’t faze me. You’d be wrong. In fact, I so look forward to each and every date we have. Maybe because we’re always far apart, I’m used to missing him. So being him with him makes me giddy.

Tomorrow is Gim’s oathtaking here in Manila (because he’s a licensed doctor now!!) so he arrived just last weekend. I had work on Saturday so today is our first whole day to be together freely! He woke me up at noontime with bacon and eggs. Yumm!!! I love love love when Gim cooks for me! It can be as simple a meal as possible and it would taste delicious! Maybe his sweat makes it tasty. Hahaha yucky!! But I will eat it anyway. ♥ ♥ ♥

In the afternoon we decided to go to Ortigas. We strolled around in Shangri-La Mall, my first time ever to visit it. I spied a lot of things I wanted to buy, but I restrained myself. Because I will make Gim buy all the things I want when he finally starts has a salary! Evil! Mwahaha!

For snacks, we still had a Crepes and Creme GC so we header over to SM Megamall. I ordered the Fiesta Crepe (ube and langka ice cream plus banana, macapuno, leche flan and pinipig toppings) while Gim got himself a DIY crepe with vanilla ice cream plus blueberry and macapuno toppings. Both tasted super yummy!!

We strolled around SM Megamall the entire afternoon, then decided that we would watch a movie. Before that, we had dinner at Pollo Loco – again a first for me. I had roasted chicken with rice (Php150), while Gim had roasted chicken with potato salad and tortilla sidings (Php170). The meals were surprisingly inexpensive, but as roasted chickens go, I prefer Kenny Rogers Roasters. The chicken was not bad, but I did not like the potato salad – the potatoes were mushy and there were pickles in it. Ew! I also didn’t like the salsa that accompanied all chicken dishes – I prefer gravy! Gim liked it though.

The movie we picked to watch was I Am Number Four. Short review – the acting was really bad, from ALL the main actors Alex Pettyfer, Dianna Agron, Teresa Palmer and Callan McAuliffe. The only saving grace was Timothy Olyphant but he was killed all too soon. The plot is also quite shallow. Alex Pettyfer plays an alien whose race has been exterminated. There were created to protect their planet, but the planet was destroyed before they were able to carry out their mission. The nine of them were sent to Earth with their accompanying guardians, and one by one they are being hunted by the evil aliens who killed their race. Number Three has just been killed and Number Four has been on the run all his life. Number Four leaves his current town and goes to a new place with the new identity John Smith. His guardian tells him to be invisible. But he meets a girl who likes to photograph things, likes her for no real reason that we can see other than “they click”, and after a few dates, decides to risk his life and his mission so he can stay with her in town. End result, the evil hunters find him and gets his guardian killed. Good thing Number Six shows up out of the blue to save his ass, oh and his Mogadorian pet who was sent to protect him also helps to save him. After defeating the evil aliens, he decides to leave town with Number Six and a new friend, and he leaves his girl while basically telling her he will love only her all his life. Okaayy. Having said that, the action scenes and special effects were amazing. So, I don’t regret watching it on the big screen, but I’m sad the plot and acting wasn’t very convincing. All the time, I kept thinking of how stupid Number Four was for always creating trouble and exposure for himself when he knew he was next to die.

I’m thinking maybe the movie left out a lot of scenes from the book. So I am planning to read the series (it’s a proposed six-book series) by Pittacus Lore. Maybe it will make more sense.

Anyway, after the movie, we decided to take some pics around the mall. Except, Gim was too shy to take a pic with the I Am Number Four poster because there were too many people milling around. So he took a picture against Pirates of the Caribbean instead. LOL.

..and also a car that transforms into a robot.

What a fun day!!!

© Flisha for Random Detox, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Crepes and Cream, I Am Number Four, Pollo Loco, SM Megamall

Tags: Crepes and Cream, I Am Number Four, Pollo Loco, SM Megamall, The Yuppy Life

ITIL RCV V3 Certification Exam

Flisha — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 17:52:32 +0000

Well. I have finally finished a harrowing week’s worth of ITIV V3 RCV Training! My mind felt like it was being rubbed raw by abrasives this whole time, because every after training, I still have to work, and my client is escalating issues to my manager, and I had meetings left and right, and received all sorts of work-related distractions. I was hardly able to study.

Ensue cramming on the night before the ITIL exam!!!

The training I took, by the way, is for the Release, Control and Validation life stages of the ITIL Service Management life cycle. Yeah, that’s my boring line of work. But it feeds, clothes and shelters me, so I am grateful for it, and grateful for the opportunities to learn and grow my knowledge.

I slept at around 3 am last night already. And at the end of that, I had only finished reading the ITIL Foundations refresher, the introduction to Service Transition, and the Change Management part. I hadn’t even begun Service Evaluation, Configuration Management, Release and Deployment Management, Service Validation, or any of the Roles and Responsibilities! I was exhausted and at the same time panicky because I failed the first mock exam!

Luckily I think the studying did some good as I passed the second mock exam this morning. We had our actual ITIL RCV V3 exam in the afternoon, and we will find out our scores in two weeks.

Gosh, I hope I passed!!!

Tags: ITIL, The Yuppy Life

Good Luck Gim!

Flisha — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:01:02 +0000

In a few days, my Gim is coming to visit me. ♥

I am so happy. I’ve missed him so much!

He is probably reading lipozene reviews right now, or all sorts of medical terms. I tried quizzing him a few times to help him study for the 2011 Physician boards, but I could barely go through a sentence without my tongue stumbling over the words!! All the -zene’s and -ily’s and -sty’s and oh what long words.

To Gim: I know you wish you were just lying carelessly on a beach somewhere right now – no studying to do – no thinking – no worrying – no stress – no pressure. God knows I feel the same.

But, this too shall pass! And I know you’ve studied your hardest and worked so hard – I pray you get your due. No promises, no pressure, sweetie. I will always love you whatever happens!

Everyone, please pray my Gim passes the boards! Nothing is sure in this world, and he needs all the help he can get!

Good luck Gim!!!!

Tags: Academics

Foton Philippines

Flisha — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:38:22 +0000

My future car better be equipped with a car gps, that’s what I think! So I can use Google Maps! Because I’m the worst with directions…

Anyway, I was checking out some inexpensive cars, and hey look, there’s Foton in the Philippines! Foton is a Chinese brand of cars. They manufacture pick-ups and sedans that don’t even go beyond the Php1million mark. Thank God for China.

Foton Blizzard 2.8L 4×2 5speed MT

Engine: 4JB1
Type: 4cyl. In-line (OHV-Diesel, Direct Injection)
Disp: 2.8L
Max Torque: 172Nm/2200rpm
Front Suspension: Independent w/ Telescopic shocks
Rear Suspension: Semi elliptic leaf spring w/ two-way telescopic shocks
Dimensions LWH: 5160 x 1690 x 1615
Gross Vehicle Weight: 2370kg
Payload: 1000
Curb Weight: 1570

Foton Blizzard 2008-2009

Classification: Pick-Up
Engine: 2.8 OHV 8V I4
Fuel Type: Diesel
Transmission: 5-speed MT
Body Type: 4-door pick-up
Seating Capacity: 5
Airbags: none
Front Suspension: Independent, Double Wishbone
Rear Suspension: Rigid Axle, Semi-Elliptic Leaf Springs
Front Brakes: Vented Disc
Rear Brakes: Drum

Price: Php 625,000

Foton Midi Crossover

Changping District, Beijing–Foton Motor’s presence in the Philippine market will further expand as the local distributor of the Chinese car brand plans to launch the Midi in the second half of the year.

The Midi–which is essentially a crossover vehicle with the characteristics of an MPV and a sedan–comes in standard and lengthened versions. It is aimed at motorists who are looking for an affordable multipurpose vehicle, Foton Motor Philippines president Rommel Sytin told Manila-based journalists.

The standard version (4,288mm in length) can accommodate five passengers, while the lengthened variant (4,338mm in length) can seat seven. Both versions are 1,725mm wide and 1,768mm tall.

Foton Motor Philippines has not specified the variants that will be brought to the Philippines, but the current Midi lineup has 1.3-liter and 1.6-liter engine options.

The 1.3-liter variant produces a maximum output of 97.2hp and a torque of 108Nm, while the 1.6-liter variant registers 99.5hp and 134Nm. Foton said the Midi’s fuel consumption is 7.2 liters for every 100km.

The Midi’s basic features include sliding doors for passengers, double front airbags, ABS and EBD, and aluminum alloy wheel rims.

Foton Beiqi can be found in EDSA-Munoz.

See more of Foton Philippines cars!

Tags: The Yuppy Life

Gim at The Fort

Flisha — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 09:10:58 +0000

My employer could take a few office decorating ideas from The Fort. Look at it, it’s so interesting! Yet at the same time, office-ish. Yes.

I took Gim there last November, and we did a lot of date-y things. Like roam around Bonifacio High Street taking pictures. Okay, I was actually the one taking pics and Gim the one doing all the posing. Tch. He said, because it was his first time, and the sun was going down, we should not waste time on me. LOL. Joke. He didn’t really say that. He just meant it, secretly, but I know everything he is thinking!!!

Good thing he is so cutesy I just let him.

The reason we actually went there was to pick up our tickets to watch Manny Pacquiao for his latest fight. Not not up close and personal. Up close and personal with THE BIG SCREEN! Hehe. We watched it at Cuneta Astrodome the following day. Thanks to Nuffnang!

Here are all HIS other pictures. Cutie Gim!

Tags: The Yuppy Life

Laptop Thief Caught on CCTV

Flisha — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:38:26 +0000

Guys, be careful of your laptops!

Watch this video of a laptop thief caught on CCTV at some fast-food joint in the Philippines. The victim left his laptop bag carelessly on the floor beside him and had no idea when a stranger sat near him and started pulling the bag away from the victim.

I personally know two friends who had their laptops stolen this way. And it was really devastating for both of them, good thing that their companies replaced their laptops free of charge. But what’s really sad is the years of data lost on the laptops.

So be extra careful. If at all possible, do NOT bring your laptops with you when you go out. And if you do, keep them close to you at all times. I always keep my laptop bag on my lap or on my back when I’m sitting down somewhere public. Hopefully I will never become a victim to such thievery!

Tags: The Yuppy Life

Philippine Taxi Rate

Flisha — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 10:52:19 +0000

The Philippine taxi rate is going up this year. The Philippine National Taxi Operators Association has long been petitioning for an adjustment in the taxi rates, and it has finally been approved by the LTFRB.

So the new flagdown rate is P40 pesos, an increase of ten pesos. And for every extra 250 meters, you pay P3 pesos (it used to be P2.50). BUT – note that this is only applicable if your taxi can issue out a receipt. If it doesn’t have a receipt printer, you should still be charged the old rate. Good news for people who can reimburse taxi expenses!

My daily taxi rate to the office is P50. P30 flagdown, and P20 for an extra 2 kilometers. Now I guess I’ll be paying about P70. Time to take the jeepney!

Tags: The Yuppy Life

Lantaka by the Sea

Flisha — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:57:51 +0000

Lantaka by the Sea

We got caught in the rain while joyriding through the streets of Zamboanga. We were about to drop by Paseo del Mar, but it was full of Sunday folks. So we decided on Lantaka by the Sea instead, even though the rates were considerably higher, the solitude and quiet would be well worth it.

And a good decision, too, since mere minutes after settling in our cozy little hut, the rain started pouring by the buckets.

We ordered Pasta Marisco (seafood pasta) to share, Choros de Chocolate (bread with chocolate) for dessert, a Cookies and Cream frappe for me, and two San Miguel Lights for him.

Spent the evening just taking photos, eating good and having fun, until the rain let up and we were able to head home.

Getting caught in the rain always leads to fun times when I’m with Gimmi.

© Flisha for Random Detox, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chocolate bread, Holidays, lantaka, paseo del mar, seafood pasta, Zamboanga

Tags: chocolate bread, Featured, Holidays, lantaka, paseo del mar, Photography, seafood pasta, Zamboanga, Zamboanga

How to Pick a Lock

Flisha — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:23:56 +0000

: Image by ul_Marga via Flickr

In the building where I live, you get someone to do it for you.

Coming home from work today, it was so frustrating. I realized upon reaching my condo unit that I had forgotten my keys inside! I called my roommate Christian, who always came home early to go to the gym, except he informed me he was currently out of town! (What a great roommate that makes me, huh.)

I called Jose, my other roommate, but I knew he often came home late, and alas, he said he’d be home by 8:30. It was only 6pm. Rare moment that I got to come home so early. (Normally, I finish work around 9 to 10pm.)

I didn’t want to wait around so I went and visited the admin office and asked if they could open my door. I had visions of a brawny security guard smashing down my door with his boots, or forcibly breaking open the doorknob. Something entertainingly disastrous and violent.

The secretary picked up the phone and called someone, after she heard my problem. She told me to talk to the person on the end of the line, to negotiate the cost. We haggled. Five hundred per lock was the first offer. I had two and simply could not spend that much. He relented and said five hundred for both locks. Relieved I had slashed 50% off the price, I agreed and put down the receiver. Then the secretary gave me this flat look like she thought I was a stupid, stupid tenant — then called the guy back and haggled it down to 400.

“Will he destroy my locks?” I asked sadly, thinking of how much it would cost me to replace all my locks. Waiting two hours for my roommate to arrive was starting to get a lot more attractive.

“No. We have the master lock,” she declared with a bland look on her face, like she had done this many times over. “He’ll be here in 10 minutes. Don’t fret, he has got a motorcycle.” How efficient, I thought, though a bit puzzled why they had to hire a third party. Must be a specialist.

And then a stupid bit later, miffed that they had a master key. So anybody could just come into my condo??? Although I was wont to say this publicly, as I was there asking them to break in. Wouldn’t I sound just so uppity.

The guy finally arrived, and we were escorted by security to my door. Whereupon he bent down on the floor, took out some pieces of wire and tin… and picked both my locks with ease, in under 10 minutes. Master lock, indeed. Dumbly, I handed him my money, he grinned widely and was escorted out by security.

Somehow I think I will have trouble sleeping tonight…

Tags: The Yuppy Life

Gawad Kalinga Bayong ng Kabuhayan

Flisha — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:01:05 +0000

Zesto Wrappers

What can you do with leftover plastic wrappers, the wasteful by-products of an industrialized generation?

Burn them? Bury them? Throw them into space?

You’d be surprised. Zesto does none of these. Instead, Zesto Corporation donates all their (clean but) excess doy pack materials to Gawad Kalinga, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing shelter and livelihood to financially-challenged Filipinos. In turn, GK produces beautifully woven bags from these donated scraps right in their local chapter in GK Sunshineville, BF Resort Village, Las Piñas City, Philippines.

Their product include woven handbags, laptop bags, lunch bags, envelope bags, purses, bed mats, coasters, table tops, place mats, picture frames, storage cases and more.

Last week, I and my fellow bloggers, in coordination with Nuffnang and sponsored by HSBC, got the chance to personally visit GK Sunshineville.

We met up at Starbucks Bonifacio High Street early Saturday, and rode a van towards GK Sunshineville. It was half an hour’s ride away from Makati, and upon getting there, we immediately saw the GKers hard at work weaving strips of doy pack, sewing up bags, making envelops and creating all sorts of wonderful knick knacks.

Project Director Bong Ragojos and the GK Beneficiaries

We met Brother Bong, the project director for the Gawad Kalinga Bayong ng Kabuhayan livelihood project. (Bayong in Filipino means large bag. Bayong ng kabuhayan means livelihood bags.)

He, with the help of his wife, voluntarily manages the Bayong project, as part of his responsibilities towards Couples for Christ (CFC). The men and women of Gawad Kalinga Sunshineville choose to work for the Bayong project, as most of them are unemployed and with children.

I asked the women how many bags they produce in a day, and they said that on average, they could finish 5-7 each. They are paid about 7 pesos per bag they create. Each bag sells for about Php200-300. (But more when sold via retailers.)

Bayong ng Kabuhayan Samples

Here are sampler bayongs from the Bayong project. Lovely, aren’t they? From afar, you can’t even see that they’re made out of Zesto materials.

The generic silver bags are Bayong’s best seller. They’re a hit locally. Interestingly, foreigners and Filipinos overseas prefer those that show the Zesto labels. I completely understand. Who wants to walk around carrying a bag that matches your buddy’s snack? However, a local product is certainly something unique abroad.

I was enamored with the silver bag as well, but I’m not a fan of the handbag. I wanted a laptop bag, but the one they currently had on display had a black strap. I wanted the earthy brown strap they used for the other bags. They were only too happy to oblige, except that they couldn’t find a long enough strap to hold my laptop bag. Aw. However, they said they could do it, I’d just have to follow up. GK Sunshineville, I’m holding you to your promise!

If you are interested in purchasing these bags, they do accept orders and even customizations. You can contact Mr. Bong Ragojos via mobile phone 63.2.9173907861/63.2.9196120202 or email him at ljragojos2002@yahoo.com.

My thanks goes out to Nuffnang, especially Patty, for inviting us to this event, and Abby, for buying us lunch. Thanks to Gawad Kalinga as well for giving me a bag! (More on the next post!)

To see more photos of the trip, see the gallery below.

Tags: Blogger, Causes, Featured, Filipinos, Yahoo

Astoria Regency Zamboanga

Flisha — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 20:16:00 +0000

These days, when I think of Astoria Regency in Zamboanga City, I think of swimming. With my going back and forth Manila-Zamboanga, it’s been awhile since I was able to take a nice long dip in a swimming pool.

I miss those days. I am at a crossroad. Tomorrow I am supposed to return to Manila. (I just came back home for four days, to attend my boyfriend Gim’s graduation. He’s a doctor now! Photos of that soon.)

However, all I want to do is stay here, with him. Because he really makes me happy. Wish I could steal him away for a long long cruise, where we can forget all our troubles, drink and eat and be merry, and smile all the time. I want to just keep him and be with him for always.

But, the rainy days always come. And I have to give up being with him, again. I’m not sure for how long this time. I am at a crossroad.

I will just have to keep looking at photos of summer and happier times. And hope the rains pass quickly.

Tags: Manila, Photography, Zamboanga, Zamboanga

Blue Beach Park in Golf, Zamboanga

Flisha — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:21:00 +0000

Easter Sunday, the day before I came back to Manila, Gim and I decided to visit Golf Beach, on a whim. Not to bathe; I don’t think I can ever bathe in less than white sand beaches (Dakak spoiled me). But rather just to enjoy the last few tendrils of sun. I don’t even have photos: it was much too dark.

After ten minutes of standing around near the water, we mounted Bastian (the bike) and left. But not before touring the entire beach, so we headed deeper into Golf.

At the end of the road, we saw this:

A new restaurant! What a surprise! And so pretty! Instantly I was saddened we hadn’t gone there earlier. It would have been a spectacular sunset.

Gim and I decided to have dinner there. It was very peaceful, we had the place to ourselves, as you can see in the photos below. I didn’t have a tripod so I had to set my camera on the table to get the photos (thus the awkward angles).

There wasn’t much beach, but there was a small park, and an exquisite tree parked on top of a hill, filled with sparkling lights. That was really the one thing that made the park beautiful, that tree.

Random aside: did you know that apricots came from Apricot trees? I thought they came from bushes! (It’s like how some people think pineapples come from trees, but don’t.)

I will return there, soon, to take more photos in better lighting. And in sunset! Oh I am so excited to return there on a sunset! These photos of mine do not do the tree justice.

Having the place to ourselves, Gim and I photowhored away. Much of it is blurry since we had to hold our breaths for ten seconds at least per photo. And one time, the waitress was coming with our food so I left my post midfreeze (that’s the one where I turned into a ghost).

The food was great! We ordered beef tapa with onions, it was so good, I loved it! We also ordered camaron rebosao (sugar roasted shrimp) but it was not available so we had to do with crispy shrimp, which was okay, not terrific. And of course, the requisite garlic rice (which was yum).

I apologize if the photos are a bit unfocused. We were too hungry to wait for the perfect take.

All in all, it was a very fun day. Gim and I had some heavy stuff to sort out so it was a good thing the place was clear of guests. We’re good now, though.

Here’s a bonus photo of the pretty tree. I tried my best to hold my breath while taking the photo, but it came out blurred anyway. Still you can see the potential.

Tags: Photography, Zamboanga, Zamboanga

Curacha in Alavar Sauce

Flisha — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:17:00 +0000

Gim and I had a spectacular lunch today. Curacha cooked in coconut milk and Alavar sauce. Divine!

Curacha is a type of crab commonly found in the waters of Zamboanga. As such it’s available in the city markets round the clock. I would love to eat it as regularly as I eat lechon (roasted pork, goes very well with a Sunday) but unfortunately my cook is a bit allergic to crustaceans. He gets hives all over, and hyperacidic, when he eats too much crab or shrimp. So I have to wait several weeks in between curacha fests.

Today happened to be my lucky day. I slept in the whole morning and when I woke up, Chef Gim had already gone to the market, bought three large curachas and whipped up my favorite Guinataang Curacha in Alavar sauce! Yummy! So good it deserves to be on the menu of a five-star New York City hotel.

Alavar is a famous seafood restaurant in Zamboanga City, and they sell Alavar sauce, which is a secret concoction of aligue and spices. Whatever they put it in it, it’s sinfully delicious and makes every seafood dish doubly tasty.

In Chavacano, Curacha means “cockroach”, but the similarity between the two creatures ends in their furry-looking legs. Curacha is a wonderfully tasty crustacean. It is meatier and much cleaner than the mud crab, though ironically with a slightly earthier taste, and it’s meat a little less smooth but just as juicy. However the difference in taste is very subtle and I am sure most people would not be able to differentiate the two without checking their shells. I’m not yet sure which I favor more, the mud crab or the curacha, so I prefer to have them both in one dish!

Jump inside to see more photos of today’s lunch, and Chef Gim’s simple Guinataang Curacha in Alavar Sauce recipe below.

How to Make Guinataang Curacha (or Crab) in Alavar Sauce

Ingredients:
1 kilo curacha or crab
1/2 kilo grated coconut
1/2 kilo Alavar sauce
1 bulb of garlic
1/2 thumb of ginger
4 pinches of salt
4 pinches of monosodium glutamate (Ajinomoto)
1 1/2 cup of water

Wash curacha or crab. Place in cooking pot. Set aside.

Place grated coconut in a mixing bowl. Pour water and mix. With your hands, squeeze all milk from the coconut. Set aside.

Mince garlic and ginger into tiny pieces. Set aside.

Sprinkle the salt, Ajinomoto, garlic and ginger all over the curacha or crab.

Pour coconut milk all over the curacha or crab.

Turn stove on high heat until the coconut milk comes to a boil. Then drop the alavar sauce into the pot and lower the knob to medium heat. When the coconut oil starts to surface (happens after around 20-30 minutes), turn off the stove.

Serve.

P.S. If you don’t have Alavar sauce, go right ahead and do the recipe without it. It will just be Guinataang Curacha, then.

Tags: Foods, Photography, Zamboanga, Zamboanga