COMING HOME

The thought of traveling as far as Bicol is dreadful. Well, for me who's been dealing with a post-traumatic stress everyday of my life. Maybe going back to the home I know is a natural longing, and I'd do it in whatever way. So I was home! Traveling that far was something quite unthinkable. That's the farthest I've gone since my accident. I guess I was generally okay during the trip. My daughter's presence somehow   was a comfort. But when we reached the long stretch of Quirino Hi-Way, traces of vehicular accidents appeared from left and right. I was weak on my knees looking at them. I wanted to look away but I did not. Hoping that if I stare back at an enemy it would go. It was like a trip to hell for me. My sole weapon was prayer and always is everyday I travel from house to work. And it never fails. I arrived Naga and traveled back to Manila in one piece! Weee!!

I think it's all about coming home for me now.  I'm back blogging in the coffee-nook  I always call my sanctuary. Yes, I decided to stay and keep it. It will need some renovations, I know. But why would I give up that easy when I know I haven't  gotten the better that it can still give out? And oh, my writing has gone rusty . I'll have to work on it.

photo credit
photo credit 

I FEEL BEACHY!

STAIRWAY TO THE BEACH...

I was part of the team that conducted an ocular inspection at the Batangas beaches for our company sportsfest. We were looking for the best, most affordable beach that can accomodate 570+ employees. Here's some chosen photos I got from our beach hopping!

PAGKAING BINABALIK-BALIKAN (My Homecoming II)

There are foods that I keep coming back for. Foods that I associate with my childhood. And I see to it that everytime I visit home, I get to taste each one of them. Every munch, I savor memories!.. hmmm, heaven...

TOASTED SIOPAO

It's hubby's favorite as well. I'm not sure if this recipe has originated in Naga, but I don't know of any place that sells toasted siopao. Well, good news for toasted siopao lovers in Manila , I heard that Naga Garden Resto has a branch in Market! Market!. They made toasted siopao within our reach now.

PINANGAT

Gabi leaves stuffed with dinikdik na hipon, young coconut, ground pork and cooked in coconut milk. Yummy!

GINATAANG LAMBO (Labong) with clams (shelled)

Siblings favorite! My sisters and brother.. we all crave for this!

LOGLOG

(looks like mami but the distinction is in the sauce)

Who doesn't love loglog?!! Eaten with maruya and softdrinks? Ah, perfect!

BINU-TONG

Malagkit na rice with coconut milk

Some prefer it as is. I prefer it with sugar. Coffee or hot chocolate goes perfectly with it!

CHEESE BURGER @ BIGGS

I used to love their cheeseburgers with the cheese stuffed inside the patties, and you can feel the cheese melting in your mouth. Heaven! That's how they used to do it. And the memories that goes with eating them are priceless. Biggs was our barkada's favorite tambayan and we don't fail to order their cheeseburgers. During my college days, sometimes I go to Biggs before school. Munching cheeseburger while studying. My alone time. It was a very relaxing thing for me.

'Til another food trip at home!

MY HOMECOMING ( Part I )

Last year, I had this great longing to visit home. Maybe because life was a little rude then, and I wanted to run to the place of my comfort and where, subconsciusly, makes me feel shielded... and HOME.

And finally, I had my homecoming during the holiday. Initially, it was a real home sweet home for me. Until the weather had to screw it up!! Yeah, it was cold and cozy, but it rained all the time and I had to put off some plans, like, take some photos of our city in different "angles", visit my alma mater in college (Ateneo de Naga) because I treasure a lot of wonderful memories there, visit my dad's graveyard, etc..

So, here goes some pics to help me make my story-telling a lot easier.

Photos taken at Avenue Square while sharing some coffee time with friends

Dined out and had some coffee time late in the evening with my two girl friends, Gay and Tess. We dined at the Red Platter along Magsaysay Avenue. I took photos of their yummy foods but I want you to see few ineteresting details of their interior designs, instead..

The place is very cozy. Looks like a country home ( I wish to achieve this kind of interior design in my own house). It's used to be a house, now turned into a resto. And the food was superb, let me not forget to say that!

Night life is great in Naga City! We stayed out till 1 am.

I miss the rest of our barkada. Wish we can all go home together and have a grand vacation.

Lunch out at Chef Doy's with Cecile few days after. Cecile and I were batch mates in highschool but never had the chance to mingle with one another. We again went to the same school in college, and there we became friends.

The foods at Chef Doy's was a so so. But maybe I should give them the benefit of the doubt. A second try, maybe.

But these pastries at Kopiroti are incredibly luscious which Cecile gave me as a treat after our lunch date! Thanks Cecile!

KOPIROTI

my highschool alma mater

I had the chance to shoot the facade of my alma mater (from elem. to highschool), Universidad de Sta. Isabel ( Trivia: it's the first normal school for women in the Philippines and in Asia. Hence, the oldest school for girls in the country). In this school, I was taught how to behave like a lady. Taught about ethics and social graces. And yes, here, it was a survival of the fittest. Daming maldita! hahah. So you learn how to fight back. Well, that's something quite common with all girls . Oops, no offense. I love my school because here, I met my best friends for life!!

The white specks on the photo aren't snow flakes! They're just some tiny droplets from the drizzle.

Nick with lowa (lola..my mother) in Naga

Nick and her ate, Denise


And finally, back in the arms of my babes (hubby) after the vacation.

ANDOY

This is Andoy..

Few weeks back, he was featured in Rated K, Channel 2 hosted by Korina Sanchez. This is the same Andoy that we met when we visited Callao Cave (Peñablanca, Cagayan) during our road trip to Northern Luzon. He was our "spokening dollar" tour guide, and he really speaks well in english! Okay then, maybe those are just memorized lines taught to him by the Department of Tourism (wherein he got trained to be a tour guide). So we pushed him more to speak english by asking him questions outside the context of his "comfort zone" (the Callao cave). And he successfully answered our queries, and in straight english! We learned some details about his life during our question and answer portion... He stays with his lolo ( I forgot whether he mentioned about his father living with them). He has foster parents from Hawaii who helps out with his studies. They plan to bring him to Hawaii someday. He wants to be a lawyer. And when asked why, "Because I want to prove that not all lawyers are liars!", goes his famous line. "How much have you earned today from your tour guiding?", we went on prying. He earned more than 1000Php for that day. Not bad eh (summer is peak season). And he's going to use that money to buy materials for the upcoming school year... Andoy is driven by his dreams. Such an intelligent boy. I pray that he stays that way.

The thing is, Andoy was more amusing and unforgettable than the Callao Cave.

And here's a glimpse of our road trip to Northern Luzon: