CMS OUTING AT BAGAC, BATAAN

My first time to go on an outing with a new unit – the CMS and the group decided to go to Bagac, Bataan – a place they have been to already a few years back but they say the place was really good and indeed it was! We arrived in Bataan early and after an hour’s stopover at the market to buy some fish, pusit, chicken and fruits, we finally reached the resort! Upon arrival, we got busy preparing lunch. The kids, of course headed to the beach at once and we just let them go their way. Anyway, the resort had a lifeguard and there were some teens with them naman (like the boss's daughters).













My son stayed with us to help in the cooking, I just sliced tomatoes and onions while Grace sliced mangoes for the ensalada. It was the hubby who fried the tilapia (with Kit’s help) while Nel and Zandra cooked the sinigang na liempo. The others started the ‘drinking session’ early because it seems Glenn (who arrived without his family) would be leaving /returning home later. We had our lunch at 1pm then after some chatting, we retired to the bedroom to nap a bit till 4 pm.














Upon waking, I went out to the beach to swim with the kids and take some pictures…particularly of the sunset. But bad luck suddenly befell Kit because he lost his slippers and got stung by a jellyfish in the arm so we had to return to the house at once to put some vinegar on it. Learned from the kids that a chopper fell down near the shore but on another cove, not the one where they swam in but it was just nearby. We just heard from the news a bit later that it was a training chopper flown by a nephew of Candaba’s ex-mayor Gatus.



























After a while, Kaye and I took our baths so I could go down to help in dinner preparations. Dinner was inihaw na liempo and inihaw na bangus but we didn’t cook everything because there were still so many food leftover from our lunch which we reheated and also served. Nel also cooked tokwa for their pulutan tonight. Zandra, meanwhile prepared the chocolate fountain for the kids to enjoy some dessert later on.
















The next day, we got up bright and early to cook an early breakfast and go island hopping! Well, not literally on another island but rather on a different cove of the same island that we’re currently in - and boy was it so beautiful!In fact, it can even rival the beauty of Boracay and Puerto Galera!But definitely not Palawan or Bohol because despite its clear waters and calm waves, there was nothing much to be seen underneath – sure there were a few fishes but not as varied and colorful as the fishes and corals of Coron or Pamilacan. Still it was a nice place to visit and we even got to see a cave and swim in deep waters using our life vests. In all, I guess this is one good place to go to for a fun beach vacation that is not so heavy on the budget!

HOLY WEEK AT TAAL, BATANGAS

Last week was Holy Week and this year I didn’t want to get bored like the last time (when we all spent it just at home at BP doing nothing!) So this year, the hubby and I decided to compromise and spend the Holy Week partly at his hometown (the first two days, evening actually of Wednesday and the whole day Thursday) and the remaining days (Friday to Sunday) with my family vacationing at Taal, Batangas.

Anyway, I wasn’t truly bored during the first day at BP since I had an assignment – to bring atsara and puto for the ‘oldies’ at Taal, so I spent the day helping out in grating the papaya, cutting onions, bawang, siling pula and carrots. Then, Inang mixed it and adjusted the seasonings, before we transferred them to plastic containers, ready for shipment the next day.

On Good Friday, we finally left for Taal at around 11am. Good thing that Papa called asking us to bring an extension cord otherwise, we would have left after lunch. We arrived at Taal without much of a hitch since there was no traffic. We did get lost a bit because I failed to see the small street we had to look for but it was just a minor glitch and we finally reached Taal Imperial Resorts – the one owned by Mother Lily and indeed the place was very refreshing!





The place had many trees and three villas which we all rented so, in a way, we had the entire resort exclusively to ourselves. The first villa was rented by my two aunts and their families (each villa had two bedrooms). Papa and the maids occupied the middle villa while my family occupied the third villa with my stepsister and her family. Each villa was tastefully designed and their website said the furnishings were handpicked by Mother Lily herself. Indeed you would not feel any of the cold ambiance of hotels but rather it feels warm and welcoming, just like a home away from home.











The resort had three pools but the two were small and shallow ones (for kids) So, we only made use of the big pool near the entrance. I wasn’t so sure if the pools were clean so I just dipped for a short time when I felt too hot and I just let the kids enjoy swimming for most of the three days we were there. Anyway, the villas had centralized air conditioning so we stayed mostly inside the bedrooms to escape the summer heat. But I was surprised to see my dad and stepmom swimming one morning so I guess they weren’t too bothered over the fact that the pool’s water was already quite translucent, maybe the overpowering chlorine had already cleansed away most of the germs of the resorts previous occupants??? But still, I shudder at the thought, which is why I’d much rather swim in the sea than in artificial waters like pools.











But I guess more than the resort’s amenities, what we enjoyed truly was the camaraderie and companionship that we shared with our relatives since we normally don’t get to be together all that often especially for out of town activities. And of course, most of these ‘bonding’ moments happen during…of course, mealtimes! Our family’s favorite pastime! There were lots of delicious foods, more than enough for everyone. Ace regaled us with his concoctions like pasta Alfredo and Visayan humba but still there was something lacking – the lechon, of course! But I guess because of the expensive resort, we’d have to make some budget cuts especially with the food. They had to pay 20K for each villa for the entire three-day stay and that’s more than the usual expense allotted for the accommodations.



























Anyway, we were all satiated with the food naman and that’s what matters. We even had the grand dame herself – Mother Lily as a guest for Good Friday dinner and she enjoyed eating with us. In fact, she even liked the puto/bibingka I brought from Pampanga! Furthermore, we weren’t always cloistered inside the resort, we had much time to visit scenic and historic Taal, particularly the oldest Basilica in Asia and the heritage houses that littered the town. We also visited another mountain resort in the area (Noni Resort) which was also quite full despite Philvolcs warnings on the possibility of a Taal eruption so I guess we weren’t the only ones who were hardheaded eh?















The final day was the highlight of our vacation – the Easter egg hunt! But this time Kit was not able to find much because the kids (Kaye and Alex) had a five-minute leeway time to search in advance so all those he was able to see earlier were seen by the kids…oh no! Alex turned out as the biggest winner and Kaye came in second while Kit only got one but at least all the others had a difficult time also searching for the eggs. Well, maybe next year he’d do better but I guess not here again because this may be the last time we would be visiting here. Not because we didn’t like the place but rather due to the hotel currently being constructed behind the villas, so that means we would not be able to ‘own’ the place like we did today. Still, everyone had a fun time vacationing here at Taal and it is one good place we would surely recommend to everyone!

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: A film review

[photo grabbed from IMDB]

While vacationing at BP, I was able to finally finish watching the movie – How to train your dragon. My daughter was actually the one who wanted me to look for the film and download it over the web since she said she liked the movie ever since she watched it with Kevin and Nicole (when they stayed overnight in Pasig last year). And, indeed, she was right – it was really a good movie! The kind that you wouldn’t tire watching again and again.

The movie is actually about a boy named Hiccup, who lives in a village called Berk that has long been plagued by problems with dragons. Hence, most of the village people become Viking dragon slayers except for Hiccup who can’t seem to get his bearings right and thus, almost always creates more trouble for himself and the entire village. But one night, he uses his invented contraption and discovers the next day that he had captured the most dangerous and totally unknown Night Fury dragon. But then he also discovers he is unable to kill it and so he sets it free.

Later on, he learns that the Night Fury dragon (whom he eventually calls Toothless) has been living in a valley because its tail was injured and was thus prevented from flying too far away. Hiccup befriends it and makes a prosthetic tail fin that enabled him to help the dragon fly, but the only thing was that he needed to ride the dragon to control it. So he builds a saddle, a control mechanism for the tail fin and a safety harness.

Meanwhile, he is left by his dad (who is by the way the Village Chief) under the tutelage of Gobber for dragon slaying training and he uses his dragon training knowledge with Toothless to become the star-pupil, much to Astrid’s dismay. So one day, Astrid follows him into the woods and discovers his secret friendship with the Night Fury dragon. Hiccup tries to convince Astrid not to tell the others yet about Toothless and takes her flying on Toothless’ back. But they soon find out the reason why the dragons have been stealing their sheep and other livestock, they bring it to a mountain island to feed a huge terrifying and very hungry dragon otherwise, they would be eaten themselves! Thankfully, Hiccup was able to convince Astrid not to reveal what they have seen yet for fear of what his dad may do to Toothless.

On the final day of dragon training, Hiccup tried to show everyone that dragons need not be their enemies. But his dad intervenes which angered the dragon and endangers Hiccup. So Toothless comes in to save him and everyone soon finds out about him and their knowledge of the dragon lair. Hiccup got disowned by his father who sets out with Toothless chained on their ship to find the dragon's nest. Hiccup then mounts the other ‘practice dragons’ with the other new ‘trainees’ to pursue the Viking fleet. Hiccup arrives in time to see his father bravely trying to fight the dragon himself.



So the kids create a distraction to allow the other Vikings to retreat safely while Astrid and Hiccup rescue Toothless still trapped aboard the sinking Viking ship. Toothless and Hiccup go after the giant dragon together and draws it flying to the clouds. Finally, Toothless releases a blast straight into the giant dragon’s mouth which sends it crashing but both Hiccup and Toothless go down with it. After the fire clears, Hiccup’s dad finally finds the boy safely cradled under Toothless’ wings and the boy wakes up back at Berk. He sees that he lost a leg and now has a prosthetic one (just like Toothless) but he rejoiced upon seeing that the Vikings have now changed their attitude against dragons and now treats them as pets and friends.

[photo grabbed from IMDB]

WHITEY’S GONE!

This morning, when I went out as part of my regular routine to check on the rabbits to see if they still have water and feeds, I got the shock of my life when I saw Whitey’s cage was empty! I panicked and tried to search the garden to see if she was just around somewhere. Then I also checked the screen to see if it’s broken anywhere and I can’t see any tear or hole in it??? So I wonder how she was able to get out? It would be impossible that she was able to push her way upwards using her cage door because it would be too heavy for her to push.

After sometime, Jun went out of the bathroom and helped me search and finally he found her. The only thing inside her cage at that time was a round PVC pipe (about two inches in diameter) which the bunnies used to play with (like a tunnel) when they were still a month old. When they left, I forgot to remove the pipe but I never would have thought to look inside it because it was too small for her to fit in. So I just wonder why and how she was able to get inside??? In fact, I had a difficult time getting her out so I had to push her gently because she won’t easily slide out when I tried to place the pipe upright. I guess she was just missing her babies and figured she may find them inside the pipe. It had just been five days since we took the bunnies to their new homes in BP and maybe she was still feeling the pain …poor Whitey!

BTW, here’s the latest picture taken of Whitey - she’s cured of mange already but still a bit thin due to her pregnancy. I sure hope we could make her a bit chubby once again!

WE’RE GIVING THEM AWAY…

I guess we have to face the inevitable, it’s time to give the bunnies away! Huhuhu! Now that they’re more than a month old already, well exactly 42 days old and since they have long stopped nursing from their mothers I guess it’s now time for us to be weaned from the baby bunnies too. Even if we don’t really want to part with them and even if admittedly, they’ve been such a drain on the budget because before with just the two rabbits, we only buy 2 kilos of pellets per week and 2 bundles of camote tops per day. But now with the addition of five voracious bunnies, we need to buy 4 kilos of rabbit pellets and countless bundles of camote tops. In fact, we may soon earn our neighbor’s ire because we’re on the verge of using up and even killing their camote plants with our frequent picking! So I guess it’s just practical to give them away but only to people close to our hearts so we can still come to visit them and see how they’re doing every once in a while.

Since the bunnies are two brown-patched and three whites, we decided to give one pair (with a white and a brown-patched) to Yana and Nog-nog (a niece and nephew from the hubby’s side of the family) while another pair to Chi-chi and Sam (my brother’s kids), and the remaining white bunny to Monica (another cousin’s daughter). So there’d be no more bunnies left with us… boohoo. But that’s OK coz soon enough, Brownie and Whitey will have new kits again and next time, we’ll surely keep even just one for ourselves…

POSTSCRIPT: Well, it seems the owners of the bunnies changed a bit since Chi-chi and Sam will be gone for a month (to join their Mom in Bangkok) so they can’t take care of the rabbits. So we just gave one brown-patched bunny to Monica so that her white bunny will not be lonely. The other white bunny remained with us and we named her Vanilla. Meanwhile Chi-chi and Sam will have their bunnies during the next litter.

WHITEY’S TURN AT THE VET

Today, it’s Whitey’s turn to be taken to the vet. She’s ready because she has long been weaned from nursing her babies and we’d be giving the babies away this weekend. I know she’s scared…I can feel it.






But she has to go through with it – her Ivermectin shots for her mange because it’s for her own good. So that in two weeks time, she’d look as good as new once again - just like Brownie!!!

A LUNCHTIME ADDICTION

These past few weeks I admit, I have been quite addicted to something you would never guess. Yes, indeed it has been existing since May 2009 but I have never really paid attention to it before I often just let the kids do their thing with it. But one lazy afternoon in the office (about two or three weeks ago) when there was no internet and there wasn’t much work to do, I tried doing it…and by God! I was definitely hooked!!! In fact, sometimes I would forego my usual afternoon nap (during lunch break) just to do it! And nope, you never would have guessed it - I am addicted to playing Plants vs. Zombies.

According to Wikepedia, the game was developed and originally published by Popcap Games for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. It involves the player as the homeowner who had to repel numerous waves of zombies seeking to enter his home by planting different kinds of plants and fungi with varied unique and defensive capabilities. The zombies will try all sorts of modes (which actually consist the playing fields) to enter your home – thru the front garden, the backyard (which has a pool), at night (with the use of mushrooms and fungi since there is no sun) and the last level, through the roof.

And so today, I guess I am just so happy to proudly announce that I have finally finished the main adventure mode by beating that huge monster - Dr. Zomboss… hurrah! hurrah! But this doesn’t really mean the addiction’s over…no, definitely not! Since I still have my Zen garden to tend to and lots of mini-games to still unlock, and of course, there’s still the survival mode that I have to go through. I read it is definitely more difficult and filled with more zombies than the previous stages I conquered. So here’s hoping I’d gain more trophies, finish more stages, and spend more sleepless lunch hours playing!

PLAYING WITH THE BUNNIES

Today is our day to stay (and relax!) at home since the hubby is on duty at the office. So we got up a bit later than usual and took our time to go to the Tiangge first so we could market for our food and ask for scrap gulay for the bunnies. Lately, we have resorted to asking for scrap gulay not just from our suki in the neighborhood talipapa but also from the weekly tiangge since with seven voracious rabbits, even if five are just bunnies, our gulay supply almost always runs out by midweek so we need to seek more sources to supply their ever-increasing appetites.

After we’ve had our breakfast, we decided to bring in the bunnies, two or three at a time just to play with them and find out their gender (that is, if we can!) We first took inside the brown patched bunnies (we have decided against naming them so that when the time comes to give them away, we would not be too attached) and found them quite a playful pair. But it turns out though that their gender still can’t be fully seen since their genitalia still hasn’t fully developed, after all they just turned a month four days ago.












Then, after some time we brought in the three white bunnies and boy were they ever so cute and playful too! The kids had fun playing with the bunnies most especially the baby, Juslin. She was not at all afraid of them as she probably thought they were toys (heheheh)








After a while, we brought them back to their cage and I took a picture of all of them together cuddling close like how brothers and sisters are supposed to be. This may be, after all, the last time I could have them together because we would soon be giving them away.









By the way, here’s an update of how Brownie looks like now, exactly two weeks after his mange treatment. He’s looking so much better now! Thank God!

RESIDENT: A Film Review

This weekend, while vacationing at BP (well, actually it is usually here that I am able to watch movies in my Ipod…for lack of anything much to do) I was finally able to watch the movie – the Resident. It is actually just a short and simple film released this year about a woman doctor (Hilary Swank) who recently moved into a new apartment but unknown to her she is being stalked in her own home and by her very own landlord – who else? Well, the characters of the movie are quite few so it’s quite easy to guess who the real protagonist is.

The movie starts with the doctor experiencing a break-up so she moves out of the flat she shares with her ex and finds an ad for an unbelievably low-priced flat with spacious rooms and cool interiors and a gorgeous landlord as a bonus! But what she doesn’t know is that the place she’s renting out is fitted with numerous peepholes, one-way mirrors and secret passages that enables the landlord to freely enter her home and do such unthinkable things to her and her stuff – like use her toothbrush, lie on her bed and bathtub, smell her things and worse drug her (thru her wine bottle) so she’d be knocked out cold at night and carry on a physical relationship with her unconscious body. Well, at this point, I believe the movie is making the viewers think the doc could be so stupid as not to suspect anything when she finds herself unable to wake up early each morning (despite the alarm) and also the fact that she’s the only lessee in the building fails to alarm her?!?

The movie itself is not exactly the blood-curdling psycho thriller I had hoped for since the protagonist seems way too nice to be a real psycho and then they have a very little body count -only the ex-boyfriend and the bad guy’s own dad were killed (because they got in the way of his plans!) The story is in fact quite predictable so it’s not really one that I would highly recommend – not the suspense thriller that I had expected and one that I would not tire of watching even repeatedly…just a creepy kind of movie with a storyline that I would dread ever happening to me or to anyone I know, in real life, that is.
[photo grabbed from IMDB]

FAS OUTING @ CALATAGAN AND TAGAYTAY

The FAS outing this year was actually just someplace near (unlike last year’s at Anawangin in Zambales and 2009 in Coron, Palawan). This time, they opted to have it at Calatagan, Batangas and with sleepover/daytour at Tagaytay City the next day but it was still something that everyone looked forward to (even my kids though we’ve been here in countless family get-togethers already!) Well, after all what kid would hesitate to go on a trip that includes a beach and a zipline adventure?!?!

So on D Day, they readily awakened even if it was still 3AM, we had to be early since Ging shall be arriving at 3:30 and we need to be at Ate Ne’s by 4AM. Good thing we were able to stick to our schedule and we arrived at the office at 4:45 am and were ready for take-off at 5AM. We will be leaving early than the rest of them because we have to look for the house we would be sleeping in at Tagaytay and do some marketing before proceeding to Calatagan. They had a problem with the original house they booked (@ Rodeo Hills) as the caretakers backed out at the last minute. Well they found a replacement thru the internet but we need to check it out first before proceeding to Calatagan.

I slept throughout the trip and was surprised when I awakened at 6:30 that we were already in Tagaytay. Quite surprised, too, to see that the house they rented was so pretty – a seven-room affair that looked like it came straight out of a European countryside – complete with flowers in a pocket garden out front and a Siberian husky which the kids absolutely adored!!!







After seeing the house, we then went to Calatagan although our travel time was lengthened a bit with some necessary stops (for fruits, some fish, buko, water and ice) until we finally reached the Caisip Resort at a little before 9AM – and truly it was a sight to behold! The water was very calm with the waves breaking at a very far distance from the shore (like in Bolinao) but the difference was that Bolinao’s beach was filled with corals and some sea plants while Calatagan’s had no corals but just something like sea grass – there is only a small patch of sand in front (like two meters maybe) where the kids waded and there’s another strip of sand, stretching out like a highway that reaches (I think) up to the breakwater but no matter how far you go, the water still reaches up to the waist. I guess Calatagan’s beach is not really one for swimmers but more for waders like the kids. What’s good is that the tables (which were placed underneath an umbrella of old hanging trees) is just near the shore so we can easily see the kids swimming from our place at the tables.












At first, I was unable to help out in unloading the things from the vehicles since I still felt queasy from the ride and due to the fever I had since last night. But after I vomited and took some meds, I felt OK enough to help out in preparing the food for our lunch although it was Ging and Ate Ne who cleaned the fish and took the lead in cooking. I just helped in cutting up the ginger, onions and tomatoes for the sinigang fish for our lunch later. I also helped fix up the table so it would be presentable when the others arrived. The others started trickling in at around 10 AM and expectedly Lony got lost because he went ahead of the convoy even if he didn’t know the way! He was bringing the ulam pa naman (adobo chicken and pork) so by the time they arrived at almost 11AM, everyone was quite raring to eat an early lunch since most were not satiated with the breakfast they gave out in the vehicles (consisting of sandwiches, boiled eggs, bananas and chocolate drink)In fact, some were not even able to eat because it was quite difficult to do so while in a moving vehicle and just opted to sleep.











We had a hearty lunch of grilled bangus/tilapia, green mango/ sibuyas/ kamatis/ bagoong ensalada, boiled talong/okra/beans and the adobo chicken/pork that Leonor cooked and of course, there were lotsa fruits – bananas, pineapples, mangoes (both Indian and ripe) and after eating, we had fresh buko juice. After the sumptuous spread, the kids went back to swimming and I drank my meds again and fell asleep on the sand under a tree with just my malong as blanket and shades. After about an hour, I awoke and saw the kids still swimming nearby, the oldies in a kubo they rented for them to sleep and sit about, the girls and the other wives were chatting under a tree watching over the kids, the boys were drinking San Mig lite under another tree while some others were inside a tent playing cards because it was windy. The others chose to do as I did and sleep under the trees but using hammocks. After some chit-chat with the ladies, I decided to return to my resting place and sleep once again coz there was nothing much to do anyway.





















When I awoke, it was already 3PM and the kids have decided to venture someplace far where the water was much higher and the waves much stronger. I went there to take some pictures and call them in for some snacks of mangoes and bagoong well, my son ate rice (I should have known!) After that both adults and kids took part in some games that Yeng and Helen prepared. I just took pictures since I was afraid to suffer a relapse of my fever once again if I get too tired. It was fun though watching the oldies do the hoops, drink water thru straws that had holes and the kids pop balloons and search for eggs (like an Easter egg hunt!)













After all the festivities, we all had early dinner at 6PM and after that we packed our things back to the vehicles so that we were ready to leave by 7PM. We reached Tagaytay at past 8PM because Ging seemed to have forgotten the way to their resort! And since it was quite cold already by that time, we decided not to let the kids swim anymore. The FAS people were then given their room assignments – Helen and Ed’s family in one big room, Willy’s brood of six in a small room, Jojo and family in a big room, Zand and Cris in another room, while Ymas and his boys, Rodel, Sam and Lem slept in the open air mezzanine above the billiards table.

Meanwhile, we returned to the vehicles to proceed to the other house and got our room assignments – Ms A and her friend and apo in Room 1 at the ground floor, Ate Wendy and her sis-in-law at one small 2nd floor room, Raymund and family in Room 3 also at the second floor, Jess and his brood of five in Room 4, Yeng and Mom with Nora and her kid in Room 5 still at the second floor while Yeng’s brother slept in the sala outside their bedroom, at the attic Ms. Purie and her pamangkin stayed in a small bedroom, while Ate Ne and her kids and my family stayed in the bigger open room, Lony and Ante slept in the sala between the two rooms of the attic. After a bit of washing up and watching some TV, the hubby and I slept in the airbed with my daughter.






















The next day I awoke early at 5:30 but not yet to get up coz I felt that my back was aching from being in the same position for too long and so I transferred to Ate Ne’s bed and only became fully awake at around 7AM. When I went down to have some coffee, I saw Jess cooking the hotdogs then he also reheated the leftover inihaw from yesterday; Ate Ne meanwhile was cooking the beef tapa while Ms. A was cutting up kamatis and onions for the red eggs salad. We let the others eat ahead of us anyway the hubby and the kids were still asleep . I decided to take a bath first but by the time the kids awoke and we were ready to eat, there was no more rice! The others from the resort were taking so long to arrive and they had some rice leftover! So Lony had to go out to buy some rice for us and more water to drink and Joy for washing up later.














We ate just in time before the others arrived since masyado magulo pag madami e! So when they came, I went up to start packing our things to leave and ensure that my kids took their baths too. After a while, I brought our things to the van and by this time I heard them making a ruckus in the kitchen coz it seems Ate Ne gave the go-signal for everyone to bring their own ‘bit-bit’ and so by the time I went inside the house, I wasn’t able to get any inihaw anymore,just some hipon and hotdogs (which I packed earlier for the kids to eat)





It was almost 9AM when we finally left for Tagaytay Picnic Grove where some of the kids went horseback riding, some rode the zipline, the ones ‘not-so-brave’ rode the cable car (including myself), while the others just walked the eco-trail around the picnic grove. My kids went horseback riding and rode the zipline, they also bought some souvenirs (like bonnets, cloth purses, and monogrammed bracelets that my daughter had initialed with her name plus her two cousins) When everyone finished doing their thing and we were able to gather (well, almost) everyone, it was time to leave for Mang Inasal. Too bad that we didn’t have a group picture overlooking Taal. We had a short detour to buy ube, lengua, pastilles, buko pie and other stuff at the Maryridge convent. I would have wanted to still see the church at Calaruega but maybe next time!























We arrived at Mang Inasal around 12 pm – and as expected it was fully packed for lunch. We had to wait a bit before they could serve the 59 orders of PM2 that we made. We looked like hungry refugees while waiting, but there were no flared tempers, everyone gamely waited for the food to arrive. Finally, after 2 hours of waiting and eating, we left Mang Inasal. I would surely bet our group gave their promo of ‘unlimited rice’ a serious run for their money – they wouldn’t have imagined how much rice we all could take in when they thought up that gimmick. But at least all of us were satiated enough to want to go home and rest. We got back home by 4 pm – all safe and with a huge smile in our faces.