Oh No! No more Spiral!?!?

One of the places worst hit by Typhoon Pedring was Metro Manila, particularly those places near the Baywalk area or near the Manila Bay. At the time of Pedring’s wrath, we were ‘trapped’ in Tagaytay to facilitate a seminar-workshop for the office. So we were unaware of the havoc that Pedring was then wreaking across the country. It was only much later when we saw in the news what really happened. We saw Roxas Boulevard looking like a huge river so some famous establishments along it were expectedly also flooded – like the US Embassy and our favorite hotel – Sofitel! It’s like Manila Bay was trying to reclaim the sea that was originally part of it.

From the news feeds, we saw Sofitel’s pools totally flooded and what’s even worse – Spiral (its famous buffet resto) was totally destroyed. The people they interviewed claimed that huge waves crashed towards the hotel and so its glass walls just broke open and all their state-of-the-art kitchen equipment and wall-to-wall carpeting was just damaged by the sea water – oh no! Later on, when I was finally able to talk to my aunt she says even their entire offices (located in the basement) were affected. Good thing, though, that her car was saved when it was taken by the valet service to higher ground before the floods reached the parking lot. They said everything was just so unexpected and happened so fast so they didn’t have time to save much else. Their primary concern was the safety of their hotel guests so they immediately evacuated them since they had to cut the power off lest someone die of electrocution.

But I guess all of these would be rebuilt soon. My aunt says they’d be closing Spiral for good – and from its ashes a new restaurant shall be born. I just hope it would be as good or even surpass the old one! Go…go…go Sofitel! I hope you’ll be good as new the next time we go for a visit!

A VISIT TO PINK SISTERS

We have been to Tagaytay for countless times already and we have probably visited most of the popular sites there (although not all of it) but this time around I made it a point to go visit the Pink Sisters chapel. My visit there was actually not without a hidden agenda. You see my son is entering college next year and I was hoping and praying that he would pass the entrance test at the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP) in Bataan. Hence, I decided to seek divine intervention from the Pink Sisters of Tagaytay. We left early to hear mass and it was such an eerie and awesome experience being there. The sisters were cloistered at the front pews and they were separated from the churchgoers with railings (almost like a prison) but I guess that just shows how protected they are from the outside world.

After the mass, the others went out to take a look at the pretty surroundings while I went to the prayer area to write down my special petition. I enclosed some money which I explained to be not meant as a bribe but rather a way to seek some kind of favor, a means for them to sustain their activities as they go about being an inspiration for others. I shed some tears as I wrote my special intention because I truly want so badly for my son to enter MAAP. I vowed to the Pink Sisters of Tagaytay to return whenever I can (each year if possible) to give them some sort of donation to show my appreciation. I have been praying long and hard for this, I just hope that my son also does his part and do his best on the entrance tests.

FIELDTRIP @ ENCHANTED KINGDOM

I got up early today at 3:15 am because it’s the day my daughter had been waiting for – it’s their fieldtrip to Enchanted Kingdom! After I finished fixing our baon (which I pre-cooked last night!), I woke her up and we took a bath. Then, by 4:30 I awakened the hubby so he could take us to school. Thirty minutes later, we were leaving the VMS campus and were on our way to our first stop, Kulturang Pilipino somewhere near the Luneta compound. The place is really a fun place for kids since they would get to know about Philippine dances, songs, history, artifacts and even values. It was a bit small though so the students had to come in by batches and wait for their turn at each of the rooms that showed them a bit about our culture.













Next stop was the Light and Sound museum at the Rizal park, the only problem though was that it was broad daylight so the students weren’t able to appreciate the real show. There was only a tour guide who narrated the final events of Jose Rizal’s life including the final gunshot that killed him. It was around 11 when we finally left for Nuvali where the kids (and parents) had lunch (most of us ate at the bus since it was cooler) and only went down to use the restroom, visit the tiangge and check out the rest of the place. There were many fishes which the kids had fun feeding. By 1pm, the buses rolled off to go to the main highlight of their fieldtrip – Enchanted Kingdom!







But alas! Despite all their excitement it seems these girls are not really so adventurous after all! Because they preferred to ride the more conventional rides and wouldn’t dare to take on the more exciting ones. But I did not pressure them since it’s their field trip after all and so it is their wishes that should be followed. The girls decided to go and watch RIALTO first, a 3D type of moviehouse that has moving chairs to enhance the experience that the viewers are actually not just watching the movie but in the movie itself, well, almost! The movie that was currently showing then was Happy Feet and it was truly a riveting and jolting experience but still short since it lasted all of twelve minutes and yet we waited almost an hour in line to get inside. But then, I guess we didn’t have much choice since all the other rides have the same kind of long lines. The next ride they decided on was the Up, Up and Away. Afterwards, they went on a carousel ride and then ate some snacks at the food court there. We wanted to ride the ferris wheel also but there was just no more time since we need to get back to the bus already.








I guess we wasted too much time trying to decide which ride to take; trying to find something they would all like – others want the bump car but the others don’t; some want to ride the Roller Skater – which is a mini roller coaster actually but the others don’t; even the Giant Ferris wheel and Anchor’s Away were shunned by the kids, they think it was boring! I guess the kids failed to take advantage of the ride all you can ticket that they bought. Besides, all the other rides were not allowed to them like the Rio Grande, Jungle Log Jam, Space Shuttle Max and the Extreme Tower Ride. Oh well, I guess I shouldn’t have lifted my hopes up. Maybe when my daughter is a bit older we could go back and enjoy all those other rides we failed to take. That is, if I am not yet too old to ride!

Kitchen misadventure series 36 – Mac and cheese for baon…why not?

Today, I decided to wake up earlier than usual because I wanted to cook something special for my kids’ baon – no there’s no special occasion, it’s not anybody’s birthday or anniversary - I just wanted to cook mac and cheese -that’s all! The recipe I used was a very basic one – I just boiled the pasta in water first. Then, while I was waiting I cooked the sauce – some basic red sauce recipe wherein I used some leftover ham and corned beef sautéed in garlic and onions before adding the spaghetti sauce. It took me a bit longer than usual though to finish cooking because there were just so many things I needed to do for the mac and cheese – like grate some cheese, chop onions and garlic, boil the pasta, etc. But I guess it would be well worth the effort knowing the happy surprise in my daughter’s face when she sees her baon!

MS UNIVERSE 2011 – Our bet made it to the top 5!

We spent the entire morning today just glued to the TV to watch Shamcey Supsup as she vies for the Miss Universe crown. Admittedly, the country is filled with citizens just waiting for the time when the Philippines will win another Miss Universe crown and I am one of those hoping against hope that Shamcey will be the one to finally break the lull. After all, she is beauty and brains rolled into one. But, despite being among the crowd favorites and despite her straight English and perfectly acceptable answer during the Q and A, she only got the 3rd runner-up crown - why oh why???

I think her answer was great! She stood by her beliefs and proudly pronounced that God comes first in her life. Well, the Philippines being a predominantly Catholic nation, that should be understandable to all, even the judges. But I guess they didn’t see it that way. The idea that Shamcey would impose her religion on the person she loved probably did not sit well with them. I guess they would have wanted her answer to be more on respecting the religion of the other and accepting the person you love for what they are, but hey that’s her belief! She should not have been judged on how she answered but rather on how she remained calm and collected while answering the very very difficult question they asked her. Oh well, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. What matters is that Shamcey once again made it to the Top 5! The Filipinos have shown (thru Shamcey’s victory) that we truly are indeed among the world’s most beautiful women! We’re so proud of you Shamcey!

Kitchen misadventure series 35 – Chicken curry

Here’s another favorite comfort food, which thankfully my son also shares. My daughter has not developed a taste for it yet since she says it’s a bit spicy but eventually I hope she’d like it. The hubby, however, doesn’t like it so I am only able to cook this dish for the kids baon (and mine of course!) The recipe is actually very basic – I just sautéed the chicken in ginger, onion and garlic then let it simmer until cooked. Then you add the curry and some patis for seasoning, milk or gata (whichever is available) and the carrots and potatoes. Let everything simmer for a bit longer until the vegetables are cooked and voila! Chicken curry!

MONA LISA SMILE – a film review

[photo/poster grabbed from IMDB]

Finally, here is one good movie about teachers – totally unlike Bad teacher, since this movie is about Kate Watson, an art teacher who had a very modern outlook and wished to imbue her passion not just for art but in life to her mostly conventional and traditional students of Wellesley College. Katherine soon learns that her students have memorized her entire syllabus through their textbooks so she decides to disregard her lesson plan and teach them in unconventional ways to let them start thinking for themselves. She gets into a conflict with some of her students and their parents not just for her teaching methods but for her beliefs that a girl should strive for more in life than just wait for the right man to marry.

The movie kinda reminded me of another film – Dead Poet’s society but this time the students are all girls including their teacher. But the similarity ends there since their storyline is totally different. Mona Lisa Smile was set in the 50s and it tackled the women’s need to gain more academic freedom and independence. And with a progressive teacher like Watson, they eventually manage to think out of the box, well, most of them. Betty (Kirsten Dunst) is highly conservative and failed to understand why Watson remains unmarried and is pushing her students to think beyond marriage and embark on ‘careers’ of their own. When her marriage fails near the end of the movie, she realizes that marriage isn’t everything and decided to pursue a law degree and enroll in Yale.

Joan (Julie Stiles), another student, is early on seen to have been influenced positively by Watson and inspires her to pursue a degree in Yale law school where she is eventually accepted. But in the end she elopes with her fiancée and instead asks Watson for understanding and to respect her choice. Watson is also shown here with an ex-boyfriend who flies in from California to propose marriage but she declines since she feels she doesn’t love him enough. Then, there’s another Italian teacher whom Watson starts dating but when she discovers that he continues to have affairs with his students and that he lied about being in the war, she breaks up with him.

In the end, the school realizes that Katherine’s course has become popular with students and asks her to return next year but imposes conditions for her to follow. So she decides to leave and explore Europe by herself. This is a good ending since it showed how she is unwilling to compromise her principles. Her students all cry upon seeing her leaving but she still dashes off, leaving them with her graceful Mona Lisa smile. Indeed, this is one movie that would make you smile and believe that there are still wonderful teachers out there like Katherine Watson. In the movie, however, the term Mona Lisa smile is made to refer to how the women in the 50s conspire to hide the lies and frustrations that they have in life - outwardly smiling even if deep inside they are hurting and totally unhappy with their lives.

NEW KITS FROM WHITEY (AGAIN!)

Since we bought the bunnies last year (around August), Whitey had given birth three times already - imagine that? Spaced three months apart, Whitey gave birth to five kits on her first pregnancy, then three on her second and you won’t believe this - eight kits this time around. I first heard her scratching wildly inside her cage at around 4:30 am so I went down and saw that she was once again already molting. I just made a makeshift nest for her using an old shoe box since her regular wooden box I found wet under the langka tree. I noticed a wide gash, though on Whitey’s left cheek, maybe she hurt herself while she was removing hair from her body to place inside the nest. I touched it a bit and saw it wasn’t bleeding and so I just let her be lest I agitate her further.

It was around 10am when Whitey started giving birth and at that time, Ace counted three kits all at the same time. I thought then that it would be the end but when we lifted her out of the box, it seems she was giving birth to one more, in fact, five more! But it was just too bad that two of them died quickly. I guess they were just too small when they came out – seemingly premature and unable to move so they can’t nurse properly. Or maybe mother rabbits have only six nipples??? I don’t really know, I never got around to checking but what really got me so excited was seeing Whitey give birth to eight new baby bunnies - hurrah for Whitey! Here are pics of her new babies.

P.S. Another one died a few more days later, so I guess it's now just down to five...

NEW LANGKA FOR 2011

It has been quite some time since we had seen any fruit from our langka tree. In fact, I don’t recall having any fruit at all this year. Imagine, it is only now that we are having another fruit after the langka gave us so many last year. I think it bore fruit twice last year and it had as much as 5 fruits each time so we didn’t know what to do with it! But thank God that the tree didn’t truly make ‘tampo’ because that’s what the oldies say when the trees stop bearing some fruits. Well, finally we have a new fruit from our tree, just one though for this particular tree and none yet from the other one. I just hope it gets ripe before Christmas so we would be able to use it for our sweets.

LINGGO NG WIKA @ VMS

Today I went on leave to watch my daughter’s presentation for their school’s Linggo ng Wika celebration. I gave her a bath, dressed her up and let her go with the schoolbus while I will just follow to bring her things since the program starts at 11 am. When I arrived at their school, she was anxiously waiting for me already at the gate and so I hurriedly dressed her up and made up her face before proceeding to their classroom. Then, I went down to the Grand Zenith to wait for the program to start. They performed ninth so I was unable to leave to go to the canteen and buy some food. Instead, I waited till they were finished performing before I fed her some lunch. She too can’t leave their place in line until their performance is over. I was unable to appreciate their performance this year because they used a folk dance from Bohol. In fact, even their music wasn’t something that everyone would recognize so it got a bit boring after a while. But I still stayed behind to watch all the presentations. Kaye and I left after the program ended and we went straight home, just bought ice cream at Palmera and some snacks. Here are some pictures of her and some classmates in their colorful costumes.