From 2018 to 2021

 Wow, the last post I had was almost three years ago. January 22, 2018. I was still in-between jobs but in that span of time lots of things have happened.

So here I am, spending the last few hours of 2021, watching K-drama and finishing off a cranberry vodka, three years flew so fast this time around.

Food trip around Vito Cruz, Malate

Last year, I had a short stint working along Leon Guinto St. in Malate and I had the opportunity to explore the different flavors Vito Cruz has to offer, especially to budget conscious students and employees like me.

First off, must try is the Sinangag Express or as we fondly call it, SEX. SEX elevated the usual "tapsilogan" into a fastfood joint and offers a variety of "silog" such as hotsilog, tapsilog, lechonsilog, adobosilog and many more.

For dessert, pair your silog with chilled taho :) Price ranges from 70 pesos to 100 pesos, not bad right?

Holy Grill is also an affordable restaurant, a step-up from SEX in terrms of ambiance. Must try their sizzling fish fillet for only 120 pesos.

Agno!!! The foodpark beside La Salle's Gate and at the back of Green Mall. With its variety of stalls, your 100 pesos will go a long long way.

There's also Zark's Burgers of course:

And of course, your Malate food trip would not be complete with Korean cuisine at Minio's Grill where you'll get free eat all you can Kimchi. Must try their Bibimbap :)

SEX is located at Dagonoy St., just across DLSU and Taft AVE., Holy Grill and Zark's Burger along Taft Ave. across DLSU, and Minio's Grill along Leon Guinto St. All of these are just walking distance from DLSU.

I Traded My Samsung Note 8 for Oppo F5

I'm back!

Much has happened since I last posted and I hope to eventually post some of the happenings. Let me start with my changing of phones last December.

I admit, I am a person of whim, an impulsive buyer and once I have achieved my goal, I look for another. I felt that I have exhausted all the excitement for Note 8 and I can say goodbye to it. What do I miss from Note 8? The S-Pen, but after a month of living without it, I got over it.

Now, here's my new phone Oppo F5. Here's briefly the specs from their official website: https://www.oppo.com/ph/smartphone-f5?q=specs

6-inch FHD+ (2160 x 1080) display, 402ppi, Gorilla Glass 5
MediaTek MT6763T 2.50GHz octa-core CPU
Mali-G71 MP2 GPU
4GB RAM
32GB internal storage
microSD card support (dedicated slot)
16MP f/1.8 rear camera w/ LED flash
20MP f/2.0 front camera with AI Beautification Technology, screen flash
Dual-SIM (nano)
4G LTE
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.2
GPS with aGPS support
Gyroscope
microUSB
Fingerprint scanner
Face Unlock
ColorOS 3.2 (Android 7.1.1 Nougat)
3,200mAh Li-Ion battery


Okay, so what do I like about F5?

1. It's like Note 8, it's full screen. There's no physical home button anymore
2. Face recognition! It's easy to unlock the phone by simply looking at it
3. The camera - both front and back :)
4. The bokeh effect on selfies
5. Watermarks on the pictures automatically

I wish it could have been:
1. Waterproof or resistant
2. Larger memory to save videos (though it has expandable memory)

Overall, I am quite satisfied. For it's pricetag of Php15,990.00, it delivers.

Here are some photos taken with Oppo F5 with no filter required :)

Samsung Note 8 Review: An ordinary person's experience

Ever since Samsung announced the release of Note 8, I have been dreaming of having one but at Php49,999.00 price tag, I can only dream of this.

But Smart Communications post paid came up with a pre-order so enticing I tried to get one. For a Php1,000 cash out plus the one mone advance fee of Php2,500 (Php1,500 device fee and Plan 999), I applied during the pre-order period last September 17 so I can also get this:

an AKG bluetooth speaker worth Php7,999. Not bad.

Smart Communications Plan 999 comes with a 10GB data, an unli all-text, 50 minutes call and 500mb for FB messenger, viber and what's app.

A week or so, my application got approved and I opted for cash on delivery. On my birthday, I got my package!

So, I have been using Note 8 since October 5, more than a month already and what can I say?

I'll not go very techy here but here's what I like:

1. It takes great pictures - selfies and portraits. What's also neat about it's dual rear cams is that you can save both the close-up and wide-angle shots. How cool is that!

2. Multi-window! Great for multi-tasking. I can open two apps at once!

3. The note taking :) The S-pen is great for on-the-spot writing/

4. The iris scanner and face recognition. Added security guyz!

5. The secure folder, for all those secret files hahahha

6. Dual app, where you can open two accounts of an app, say you have two FB, you can log-in your two different accounts in two FB and you can open them simultaneously!

Will continue the list... brb

The Art of Gratitude: The Santosha Project

Last June, I was in a very confused state of mind. I was not really sure which direction to go but I feel that I have to change in order for me to grow. As some options started appearing, I felt that I have to make a decision. On this emotional and mental state, I was still thankful of all the blessings I have. That one thing was very clear on my mind. And last June 27, I saw a post of a friend on her timeline about Santosha making. I had no idea what it is but as I read through the poster, I knew I have to attend this workshop.

I have known Ime (https://yinyangnotebook.wordpress.com) since 2000. She was a classmate in my MA English Studies poetry class. We have kept in touch and I have always been interested in the things she is an expert of - creative writing and now this. I texted her and she asked me only two things. The workshop is actually free but you have to come into it in the right frame of mind and good intentions. This is not a money-making venture because there is a spiritual investment in santosha making. There is an art and a passion behind it.

So I was fortunate to be part of the select group who attended the workshop. I cannot share what transpired during the workshop, not that I wouldn't want to but because you have to be there to appreciate it and learn. In summary, you can read Ime's post on what is santosha: https://yinyangnotebook.wordpress.com/2016/09/01/what-is-santosha/

After the workshop, I learned that santosha is a way of sending out to the world the gratitude for all you are thankful for. It is a bracelet or necklace used as gratitude beads. Below are the first four bracelets I made during the workshop.

Santosha making is not just stringing of beads. It's not like the bracelets that can be bought commercially. Each bead, each color was chosen intuitively for the person the beads are strung for. If there's one thing I learned from this project aside from the power of gratitude, it is patience. Stringing a necklace composed of 108 beads plus spacers would really test your patience.

So each santosha I'll be making is a work not only of art, but of patience and with each patient making, is my love and gratitude.

Materials:

Some finished Santosha's:

So in case you got one from me, or requested one, I just would like to put it out there that this is not for sale, it is a labor of love and last, you should follow the guidelines I would be giving in using the Santosha to have it a powerful effect in your life.

Hirayamanawari,

Rob

Monday Blues: Love is a Decision

This was written 20 years ago. It was true then, still true now.

I always believe that when you love someone, you should never ever be ashamed to tell that someone how you feel. 

Love is not something that should be treasured deep in our hearts but something to be expressed, to be shared with someone.I haven't really been in love, so I am looking forward to experiencing it. I am apprehensive about the pain, and I am afraid. That's the truth but knowing that despite the risks of being hurt and being rejected I would still like to experience how it is to love. You know, having the little things like waking up each morning knowing that your loved and love in return. Cliches would be our reality... the sun is brighter, flowers more fragrant... *sigh* I look forward to seeing the moon rise and stargaze in the arms of someone I love,and wake up with his eyes lovingly looking into mine. Cooking together, walking in the park together...even arguing would be so much fun, specially the kiss and make-up part. But that would be in the future pa... when the person I am supposed to love will bump into me and the realization that we are meant for each other would dawn into our eyes, and knowing each other and discovering ourselves would be an adventure from that day forth...I cannot tell you if its wonderful, but deep in my heart, among all emotions, love must be the most profound, the most exquisite. I would like to discover why people make fools of themselves. Why I cannot blame a friend for being stupid - because that's love. I don't have the authority yet to judge because I haven't been in love, that's why I envy those people who experienced love.I would always maintain the belief that love, the idea and the emotion, is a decision. And I am looking forward to making that decision.

PS

I guess 20 years after, I made several decisions already :)

Friday Letter: Love Your Work

Dear Rob,

I am currently in-between jobs, in short, I'm a bum. I am already in my mid-30s and I feel that time is running out on me.

I started actively applying for a job this January after taking a very long vacation. Since I sent out my resume last January, I have been interviewed by at least five companies already. I know I am good at what I do. I speak well and I presented myself to the best of my ability.

Yesterday, I went to the sixth job interview. It went well I think. However, I am getting impatient. I mean, for some reason or another, I have yet to stay in a company for more than two years and yesterday, I was called out about it.

The interviewer questioned my loyalty about the companies I work before. For all the six companies I have worked before, there were reasons, valid reasons, why I left. In the long run, I never realized that these have tremendous effect on the perception of my future employers.

I am sharing this to you so that your readers may come to realize what I just realized now, to be forward thinking, to really think about the future.

I cannot really say that I regret my past decisions in life, but the thing is, I should have also considered the repercussions it would have in my future.

I know it is not too late for me and I am glad that I am still young enough to realize that I should love my work no matter what, and so the company I will be working for will be lucky because I would be loving it well beyond my retirement.

Best regards,

Anonymous

Thursday Quotes: from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

My ex-friend and I are so very fond of "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coehlo.

Both of us believe in the Personal Legend.

On my part, I believe on the following quotes in the book:

It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting. (p11)

What's the world's greatest lie? It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. (p18)

The boy didn't know what a person's "destiny" was. It's what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their destiny is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny. (p22)

And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. (p23)

People learn early in their lives what is their reason for being. (p25)

When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision. (p71)

Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life. (p77)

When you want something with all your heart, that's when you are closest to the Soul of the World. It's always a positive force. (p82)

The alchemists spent years in their laboratories, observing the fire that purified the metals. They spent so much time close to the fire that gradually they gave up the vanities of the world. They discovered that the purification of the metals had led to a purification of themselves (p85)

"I learned that the world has a soul, and that whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of things. I learned that many alchemists realized their destinies, and wound up discovering the Soul of the World, the Philosopher's Stone, and the Elixir of Life. But above all, I learned that these things are all so simple they could be written on the surface of an emerald." (p87)

I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we're living now. (p88/89)

Because people become fascinated with pictures and words, and wind up forgetting the Language of the World. (p91)

In his pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage. So he could not be hasty, nor impatient. If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path. (p93)

When you are in love, things make even more sense, he thought. (p105)

Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World. (p117)

Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You've got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense. (p122)

"There is only one way to learn," the alchemist answered. "It's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey. (p132)

The wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise. The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of this wisdom. That's what I mean by action." (p133)

All you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation. Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there. (p134)

People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them, or that they'll be unable to achieve them. (p136)

Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity.

Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him. (p138)

Every search begins with beginners luck and ends with the victor's being severely tested. (p139)

The boy and his heart had become friends, and neither was capable now of betraying the other. (p141)

When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there's no need at all to understand what's happening, because everything happens within you. (p155)

The last one is so really true, when you are loved, nothing else matter, nothing else need any explanation...

Musings on a Wednesday

I Know Him So Well

Nothing is so good it lasts eternally
Perfect situations must go wrong
But this has never yet prevented me
Wanting far too much for far too long.
Looking back I could have played it differently
Won a few more moments who can tell
But it took time to understand the man
Now at least I know I know him well

There was never a closure, there was never really a goodbye. In every relationship, I always end up alone, pondering on what happened - where did I go wrong? Wasn't what I give enough? Oh no, this song is not for every man that left me. Yes, I knew them well after they left me, but this is really about me, how I know myself more after each relationship. Those relationships are never a failure nor are they successful but experiences that I learn from.

But yes, the lyrics of the song fits my love life. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't plunge into relationships. I would handle things differently.

Wasn't it good?
Wasn't he fine?
Isn't it madness
He can't be mine?
Oh so good
Oh so fine
He can't be mine?
But in the end he needs
A little bit more than me --
More security
He needs his fantasy
And freedom
I know him so well.

It was good while it lasted... but in the end, they do need their fantasy and freedom, so I have to let go...

No one in your life is with you constantly
No one is completely on your side
And though I move my world to be with him
Still the gap between us is too wide.

Ouch, in every relationship, I made them my world. That probably is a big mistake because however much attention and care and love I give, it would seem never enough.

Looking back I could
Have played things
Some other way
Looking back I could
Have played it
Differently
Learned about the man
Before I fell
I was just a little
Careless maybe

Maybe. But in a gay relationship, there is really no "courting" stage. You get to know about the man while you jump into the relationship...

But I was
Ever so much
Younger then
Now at least
Now at least
I know him well
I know I know him well
Wasn't it good?
Wasn't he fine?
Isn't it madness

It's a convenient excuse, I was young then...

Oh so good
Oh so fine

He won't be mine?
Didn't I know
How it would go?
If I knew from the start
Why am I falling apart?

Wasn't it good?
Wasn't he fine?

Isn't it madness
He won't be mine?
He won't be mine?

But in the end he needs a
Little bit more than me --
More security
He needs his
Fantasy and freedom
I know him so well

It took time to understand him
I know him so well

Tuesday Poetry

GAYA NG ULAN...

Sa bawat pagpatak ng ulan, may kasamang patak ng luha.
Iisipin mo na panaginip, ang lahat ng dumaan.
Ninais na magising, upang baguhin ang lumipas.
Wala ng magagawa, kundi lingunin ang nagdaan...
Umiling, sabihin sa sarili,
Magbabago din ang lahat...
Ngunit kapag ang puso ay pagod na pala
Kahit anong isip, o dikta ng isipan...
Manhid na, pagod na, wala ng pakialam...
Sa mga nagdaang lumipas
Sa mga panahong naglaho
Ang mga yapak ng kahapon
Animo'y yapak sa buhangin sa dalampasigan...
Na pag dinaanan na ng tubig dagat
Sa isang iglap ay mabubura.
Sa pagtulog, may pahinga nga ba?
Sa paggising, may bago bang lakas?
Ang bukas ba ay puno ng pag-asa?
O katulad lamang ng mga nagdaan?
Sa isang pitsel na tubig, kalahati ang laman
Ito ba ay puno o kulang?
Ang bukangliwayway ba ay maganda
Kung sa dapithapon, ang araw ay magpapaalam din naman...
Oo nga at may buwan at bituin,
Marikit tingnan sa kalangitan
Ngunit kaylamig, katulad ng hangin sa gabi
Walang pakialam...

Experience Palawan - Puerto Prinsesa City - 3D2N

Last March 23, 2015, I had the chance to experience Puerto Prinsesa as I really wanted to see the eight wonder of the world, the Underground River. Here's a brief rundown of my experience.

Day 1: City Tour

If you are looking for a budget place to stay but comfortable enough, check-in at the Plaawan Village Hotel. The hotel is very near the airport, you can just walk going there! 

First stop in the city tour was a visit to Immaculate Conception Cathedral and right beside it, the Plaza Cuartel.

Then off to the Butterfly garden, and inside it ia a tribal village of the Pal'awan tribe.

The City Tour would not be complete without visiting the Wildlife and Rescue Conservation Center, a sort of mini-zoo but I mostly took pictures of the crocodiles :)

The last stop was Mitra's Rach and beside it, Baker's Hill.

The City Tour is a half-day exploration, so you can do this after lunch :)

Day 2: PPUR

Most of Day 2 will be consumed by travelling to the Puerto Prinsesa Underground River. This tour includes a buffet lunch.

I didn't upload pictures of inside the underground river as it is best experienced including the tour guide's narration while traversing the hour river cruise :)

Since there was still light after the PPUR tour, we opted to do souvenir shopping here where pearls are cheap :)

Day 3: Honday Bay Island Hopping

The island hopping also includes buffet lunch at Cowrie Island. Island 1 - Pandan Island is great for snorkeling while Island 2 - Cowrie for swimming and picture taking.

Puerto Prinsesa has lots of restaurants to choose from, we tried the Japanese and the other one Vietnamese restaurant for the dinner during Day 1 and 2.

All in all, the Puerto Prinsesa trip is an affordable trip since all tours are government regulated, meaning, you get to pay the standard fees in all the tours no matter which tour agency you choose :)

Hirayamanawi,

Rob