Holy Week Reminder

How does the idea of having a very rude visitor in your house sounds? Annoying enough to kick him out and warn him never to come back again, I think. As a person who loves traveling, I always make it a point that I respect the people, place, culture and rules in whichever location I go. Our country is famous for it's tourist spots, love for music [and Manny Paquiao]. We have top of the line beaches and that's one of the reasons why I love summer. There are more and more summer destinations that are making names these days. Before, it will always be Boracay. Nowadays, people are exploring the islands of Palawan, Bohol, Davao, CamSur, Cagayan de Oro, Anawangin, Nagsasa Cove, Potipot Island, Carabao Island, La Union and etc. I hate it when I see people tourists ruin such beautiful places. I'm never active in any environmental organization but I know how important it is to do my part - simple things that will really matter if only everyone will do the same thing. It's Holy Week again, a lot of people will be travelling out of town. Please be mindful of your actions, it's not only you who want to enjoy nature at it's best.

Journey on The Best TapSiLog

TapSiLog is one of the most popular breakfast meal in the Philipines. It's a combination of tapa [most of the time, beef], garlic fried rice and egg fried sunny side up. I am fond of having tapsilog anytime of the day and so I never stop trying out different versions served in every corner of the world where I can find it which is apparently, everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE!

And then I decided to make a documentation of this journey in search of the best tapsilog from the outskirts of the metro to the deepest province wherever it's served as long as I remember eating there, hehe.

I will first mention the restaurant which probably have the most number of outlets - Jollibee. Their tapsilog is a mediocre. It's neither good nor bad. Something that I might order again when I happen to pass by one of their branch in search for breakfast but not good enough to make me crave for it.

Then there's this Rufo's Famous Tapa with branches in Ortigas Center and in Makati [I'm not sure if there's more]. For me their tapsilog tastes sweeter than how tapa usually taste in other restaurants. I like it and we used to call in for delivery when I worked in Ortigas.

I make it a point to try out different tapsilog when I'm travelling, too - Boracay, Bohol, Puerto Galera and even in Singapore! Tapsilog by the shore is the best breakfast [better than having waffles or sumptuous pancakes, I swear!] paired with just instant coffee. In Singapore there are not a lot of tapsilog options but I like it served in a restaurant in Lucky Plaza called Jologs, although it costs about S$7 [Php200+] which is more than half of it's usual price, most OFW still dig it.

Prince once brought me to a tapsihan few years ago at the back area of the UST campus. I'm not sure what that place is called but their tapsilog is also something worth the long travel time and I could have it everyday if only I live in that area.

Last month was my first time to eat in a famous SEx [Sinangag Express] outlet in Sucat, Parañaque with Prince and his bandmates. I so love the vinegar and the tapa so I had to ask Prince to buy another one that we can share after I finished mine, hehe.

However, no matter how far I travel, the best tapsilog is just few minutes away from my place - Tapsi Ni Vivian located in Project 3, Quezon City.This place has always been a favorite since I was in grade school when my father bring the entire family and we just occupy one of their nipa huts to enjoy a lot of their great selection of dishes. Sadly, Tapsi Ni Vivian doesn't have any other branch but I assure you that it's really worth going to this one of a kind tapsihan!

We We're Once Respected.

I am turning 24 next month. I was born after the historical EDSA Revolution in February 1986. It made me naïve on what it felt like to live during the Martial Law. From my late grandmother's stories, it made me scared to imagine how was it like. I remember that she used to tell me that although she's not the type who goes out often, they sometimes have to go to the dance but make sure to be home before the curfew otherwise they will be put to jail. It sounded so negative to me. Although she also told me that the exchange rate at that time was USD1 = Php2. No one will ever think of going out of the country to be an OFW.

Speaking of being an OFW, I had my fair share of being one of them for more than a year. Although there are a lot of young professionals working there, the "DH" image remains for Filipinos worldwide. When I was in Singapore, one of the Philippine's neighbor country, I heard a lot of good stories about how Ferdinand Marcos was as  a leader. I even saw a tv special tribute in one of the local tv channel in Singapore to Imelda Marcos with very rare videos of her interaction with very famous world leaders - they were kissing her hand and all the respect-filled gestures. The image they portrayed as the country's President and First Lady during that time is very far from how I see politicians running for office this 2010. While watching it, I can't help but wonder how the idea of sending huge number of Filipinos to be domestic helpers even started.

I once had an old Singaporean client who's very fond of talking about the Philippines. He said the last time he was able to visit the country was in 1985, I laughed and joked that my parents must've been planning for their first baby [me] at that time. He is an amiable old man. He said that at that time, Singapore was a struggling country and that they were given donations from the Philippines that lived up to now. He mentioned personal stories that he was in the army, their trainers and leaders were Filipinos. He said words such as, "Filipinos have the best, strongest soldiers in the world I've ever known. They do trainings in the wild with only swiss knife and they survive. It's amazing" with such pride that I will think he's a Filipino himself.

It kept me, afterall, proud to be a Filipino amidst all the negative news, calamities, circus-like politics and corruption. I still think there's a lot of Filipinos out there who continue to make us proud. And well-respected.

Pimp My Bass Guitar!

I am fond of all-black guitars until I saw the video performance of No Doubt [reunion concert in Singapore I think] where Tony Kanal used this hot pink jazz bass. They were all wearing white, the stage is all-white and this bass just stands out!

[caption id="attachment_52" align="aligncenter" width="333" caption="Tony Kanal"][/caption]

And so I had this biggest decision for my baby Jasmine - placing a pink pickguard to her all-black, sexy body. I love Jasmine as she is. As I've mentioned in my multiply entry, it was love at first site when I bought her. I never change anything until yesterday. Prince and I went to Mang Max and got her pimped. I trust Mang Max and he never failed me at all. Jasmine is now more edgy and female-looking than she was after his simple magical touch.

When we arrived at his home based shop, Mang Max is on the phone with one of his "suki" client, Russel dela Cruz of Intolerant.



After hanging up, he showed Prince's jazz bass and worked on it's action. Shortly, his attention was focused on Jasmine. He started measuring and cutting the raw material into perfection [I must say, he really is a perfectionist when it comes to work]. And when everything about the pickguard was done, I sighed and realized that my baby is now a lady. It's an addicting experience! Knowing that the gear that you're using is personalized and is just made for you is heaven [now, I've been thinking of putting little pink quarter-note shaped inlays in her fretboard, haha!]. I've been using Jasmine for more than three years now and I'm just boastful about how this Greco sounds so changing anything on her electronics is not in my mind. Now I'm very excited playing with her and her new look on stage. ☺

Experience Japan at Sango! The Burger Master

I always have this passion for trying out different cuisine as much as I love traveling. Last night, I went to Makati with Prince to join Pats in his turn to lay-in his guitar and vocals tracks. Nick's studio is just across this restaurant-filled complex [I'm bad in remembering street names especially in Makati area] where we tried out this little Japanese fast food called Sango! The Burger Master.

Prince and I were the only customers in there at that time so I can take my precious time in choosing which one should I try first. The staff greets the customers in Japanese. There's a shelf in the left side that's stacked with Japanese reading materials and the LCD TV on the right side plays a Japanese artist's concert [Prince mentioned that last time he and Gep was there, they're playing animé. I felt stupid when I went to the washroom - there's an electronic device that controls the nozzle and I just didn't have a clue which button to press! I never saw anything like that even in Manila Hotel, haha!

The burgers really looks good as well as the fries that's served conventionally or with a lot of stuff in it. I was hungry so I tried one of most popular  Japanese rice meal - Katsudon [served with miso soup]. It was not the usual Katsudon that I'm getting in Tokyo! Tokyo! or Yoshinoya. Sango's Katsudon is served with scrambled eggs around the bowl that looks like it drowned the meat and rice. I love the herbs that they used to garnish it, I'm not sure what it is [it looks like strips of seaweed], it's a nice additional flavor to rice. The pork meat were tender and not sloppy. I thought I'd need some soy sauce or something but I was wrong, it's good as it is. Prince let me bite in his master burger which tastes awesome and I also grabbed some of his fries that tastes like a homemade french fries. Their strawberry milkshake is the best that I ever had!

By the time we're done eating, there were at least three more tables that's filled. I thought that going to Japan would be really cool, I'd go there someday and experience snow, haha! I was so full on our way out that I didn't notice their staff were about to shout "Arigato!" ✌

Nasugbu, Batangas

Inspired by the summer's heat, girl [and gay] friends and I headed over southern Luzon to Nasugbu, Batangas two weekends ago. We left Quezon City at around 10am and it's cool that going to SLEX [South Luzon Expressway] via C5 road is not much of a headache. We thought that all the girls in the car should be wearing yellow - the color of summer! I chose to wear a white top and shorts while sporting a yellow hat and tote.

JF was a super safe driver and he only goes up to 60kpm speed in the expressway so the usual 2-hour drive to Batangas took us about 4 hours - better safe than sorry! Hehe.. We stopped over Starbucks in Tagaytay [right next to Leslie's] to grab some frappe and refill our water bottles. It was around 12nn so it's freakin' hot, it doesn't even feel like the normal cool Tagaytay temperature at all. Getting back on the road is easy when your background music is as energetic as Beyonce's.



We arrived at around 2pm, the sun is at it's peak so we fixed our stuff, had lunch and stayed at the ancestral house until the sun is not as angry as it was in noontime. We drove for about 5 minutes to the beach and stayed there to witness a breath taking sunset. It was a peaceful view as I love the beach but I'm not impressed by the water so I didn't dare taking a dip. A lot of people really needs discipline and appreciate that nature is God's gift that we should not take for granted. It's sad that this part of Nasugbu's beach is already polluted. The place is very open for the public, hence the traces of human trash can be found all over - lying around the sand and floating in the water. I just couldn't stop feeling sorry and thinking if there's still hope of making everyone responsible to take care of such gift. We had a fun night doing charades and toasting hotdogs and marshmallows in a bonfire before calling it a night.



The following day, we rented a boat [Php200/head] to check out different beaches until we end up in Bamboo Beach [right next to the 'members only' shore of Punta Fuego]. I can say this is my type of beach - fine sand, secluded, clear water - perfect! My rule is never go to the beach without sunblock with at least SPF50 so I didn't mind swimming at 2pm. The water is just so clear that I can see nice fishes right next to me. It's a little paradise for me.

It's time to go back to Manila. Back to reality, back to work. I'm wondering what's in store for me the following weekends of this summer 2010. Well, it's just a start. ☺

Bass Guitars - Dilemma of GASing

GAS: Gear Aquisition Syndrome.

Last Saturday, Prince and I visited the northern area of Metro Manila for one of the most well-known local guitar doctor, Max Rufo. I had Jasmine with me and Prince brought his new P-Bass for some custom treats. I asked Mang Max if it's possible to put a simple pink pickguard that's shaped like Ritsuko's bass [Shonen Knife] for my Jasmine even if her body is very slim. Mang Max took her body measurement and pick-up distances, asked me what shade of pink I'd like to put on her and told me how much it would cost. It's super bargain! I'll just go back next weekend and get it installed because he didn't want me to leave her in his shop, I also can't.

Prince's P-Bass will have a couple of things to work on so he left it there for almost an overhaul. Then Mang Max showed this amazing catalog of the custom-made guitars and basses. The thing that got my attention was the Tele-Bass: a short-scale bass guitar sporting that body of a telecaster! It's not in any other brand's 2010 catalog for sure and it's got a single-coil pick-up [not like the one in this picture] that Mang Max developed himself. I can't help but sigh, there goes GAS ATTACK!

Looking at philmusic's classifieds section [http://talk.philmusic.com] makes my GASing heart beat fast. A lot of good stuff are being sold in reasonable price. The last one I couldn't stop staring at is a red fretless bass. I kept reminding myself how much I love Jasmine and I will not trade her for anything. I'll just wait for the pink pickguard installation and she'll be ready for recording and more gigs this summer! ☺

Puerto Galera

Most people who want to just get out of Metro Manila for the weekend thought of Puerto Galera at least once. This is a budget-friendly beach destination found in Mindoro which is often associated as venues for team building, gay performers at the beach and snorkelling. In any way you see it, it's a must to go to the beach this summer so you might want to consider this little well-known island.

HOW TO GET THERE? From a few bus terminals in Cubao, you can ride one going to Batangas [with the "Calabarzon" sign] for less than Php200. Travel time is about 2 hours depending on how the traffic goes. It will take you to the port where you can buy Php250/one-way or Php400/two-way ferry ticket going to Puerto Galera's White Beach or Tamaraw Beach. They follow a certain schedule so you might want to be there on time if you're not the type who's got a lot of patience waiting in terminals. If you're on a tight budget, bring your own water bottle, it can go a long way. ☺

You will find that there's a lot of things to try here such as riding the banana boat [Php200/head, 10 persons/boat], getting a massage by the shore [Php200 for whole body massage that lasts for about an hour; TIP: bring your favorite scented lotion and as the masseuse to use it instead of the oil that they have for a more relaxing treat] and food tripping all-day, all-night! You might also want to rent a tricycle and go to the Tamaraw Falls, rent a boat and go island hopping and snorkelling or just hangout in the shore and indulge in a view that you can't always look at when you're busy living the city life. The shoreline always boasts of the island's beauty, I sometimes think I'm looking at a poster that comes to life.

Out of my cocoon..

Ok. So this is like an extension of my multiply blogs. Or maybe not.

By reading back all the previous blogs I wrote few years ago, I realized I want to start all over. I want a clean slate. Well then here’s my chance. It's been a while since I last wrote a blog entry. Now I found that this is something I have passion for. I'm like that little caterpillar who just got out of her cocoon - ready to fly and explore new things.

When something ends, it ends with a purpose. When you’ve done something wrong, you learn from it and move on. When you fail, it doesn’t really matter. What’s important is that you keep the optimism and know that life doesn’t end at that point. “What does not kill me makes me stronger.”